Pregnant Preparations
by 10Blue10
Summary: The not so long awaited sequel to 'The Doctor's Wife AU'. Romana is expecting the first Time Tot born into this universe for almost four hundred years, which is a pretty big deal. It's a good thing she has three other Time Lords to support and protect her...provided they can survive her, that is.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Pregnant Preparations

Welcome to the sequel to 'The Doctor's Wife AU, an interlude series between the two halves of series seven in the show which will show, as the title implies, the preparations for the Doctor and Romana's new baby. I hope you like it, and thank you so much for reading!

/

Romana heard the words "You're pregnant" come from her husband's lips, but she didn't understand. Well, she understood each individual part of the phrase separately, but when they were put together it made her mind reel, and lose the ability to process thoughts. "Huh?"

Gently, the Doctor guided her out of the bathroom and sat her down on the bed. He rubbed her back soothingly and brushed her hair from her eyes. "It's going to be okay, Romana. I know you're scared, but we're going to get through this" he said reassuringly, as Romana stared off into space. _I'm pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant! _The word repeated itself on a loop over and over in her mind, allowing no other thought in its place. The Doctor was right; she was scared.

Was it just her, or was the room getting smaller? Her vision blurred, her chest constricted…she found it difficult to breathe. "Romana? Romana!" the Doctor cried in alarm, realising that she was on the verge of having a panic attack. "Shh, Ro, calm down; it's okay, I'm right here, you're okay" he soothed, trying not to sound as worried as he felt. Romana continued trying to gulp air, like she were drowning, and the Doctor slipped off the bed to kneel in front of her. He pressed his fingers to her temples, and sent her to sleep.

Much to his relief her breathing evened out and she slumped forward; he caught her and laid her on the bed, kissing her forehead. His eyes travelled down to her stomach, currently flat, and tried to imagine Romana with a rounded belly. The notion that there was a miniscule living being in there, that _he _had helped create, was astounding. The Doctor couldn't help but smile for sheer joy as he gently traced Gallifreyan words of affection on Romana's tummy. Baby; they were going to have a baby.

He knew there would be a lot to consider, that this would be a monumental change. The baby would need to be protected from his enemies, and so would Romana whilst she was carrying their child. In that moment the Doctor made a decision, not to travel so long as Romana was pregnant. In fact, he wouldn't travel until the child was old enough to understand the dangers of the universe. They'd just buy a house somewhere on Earth, in a time zone before the Space Age…Victorian London, perhaps.

_No, that's no good _he thought to himself, _it'll be full of smog and nasty stuff like that, not good for the baby. Oh, I suppose I can worry about that later. Right now I need to take care of Romana _he decided, before creeping out of the room and heading for the library.

/

When Romana awakened, at first she didn't quite remember how she'd ended up on her bed fully clothed…but then she did. She sat up quickly and looked around for her jacket, spotting it draped over a nearby chair. On legs that felt like jelly, she staggered over to it and rummaged in the pockets for her sonic screwdriver. When she found it, she scanned herself and prayed, that the Doctor had made a mistake. The result was the same – pregnant, two weeks. _I need the Doctor _Romana said to herself.

As if he had been summoned by her thoughts, the Doctor appeared in the open doorway. "Hello. I just went to make you a cup of tea" he explained, handing it to her. She sat down on the chair, since it was nearest, and sipped it quietly. The Doctor placed another chair beside hers and sat down, leaning over to rub her thigh comfortingly. Once the tea had helped her calm her nerves, Romana lowered the empty cup from her lips and quietly said "Thanks…Doctor, I'm pregnant" she added, looking up at him helplessly.

The Doctor smiled at her. "I know" he said reassuringly, "isn't it wonderful?"

'Wonderful' wasn't the first word that came to Romana's mind…more like terrifying. "I…Theta, I don't know what to do" she told the Doctor, sounding so helpless and frightened that he wanted to gather her into his arms and hold her. So he placed her cup on the floor beside his chair, pulled her out of hers and into his lap. Supporting her with his left arm, he let his right hand rest on her tummy, rubbing his thumb along it. "I don't think you really have to do anything" he told her, voice tinged with amusement, "well, apart from give birth, but that's nine months and two weeks away".

"I know, but…I've never done this before" she admitted, "What if I do something wrong? What if…what if I get caught by mad scientists who want to vivisect me, or I accidentally ingest something that's fatal to the baby, or I'm kidnapped by the Silence like Amy was or shot by a Dalek or"- her stream of consciousness panicked ramble was cut off when the Doctor pressed his lips to hers. "None of that is going to happen" he told her when they pulled apart.

"How do you know?"

"Because until our baby is born, and possibly for quite a while afterwards, we're not going to travel" the Doctor informed her, and Romana's eyes widened in shock. "But…but you love travelling!" she protested weakly. The Doctor cupped her cheek and replied calmly, "I love you so much more. I'll keep our baby safe, Romana, I promise you. The next ten months – well, nine months and a half – won't be easy, especially not for you, but I will be with you every step of the way. Trust me".

His eyes and voice were so sincere, that for the first time since she discovered she was pregnant, Romana's lips curled into a tentative smile. She put a hand on her stomach and took a deep breath. "Our baby…you're right" she whispered, "it is wonderful".

They sat in blissful silence together for a while, before Romana felt another wave of nausea creeping up on her. "Oh no" she groaned, staggering to her feet and into the bathroom. The Doctor followed her, holding her long brown tresses off her face and rubbing her back as she retched. "How can I keep being sick?" she asked plaintively when it was over, "I haven't eaten since this morning!" The Doctor winced sympathetically. "It's just part of being pregnant, I'm afraid" he told her, and then he realised… "You _haven't _eaten since this morning, have you? Would you like to have something to eat?"

She shook her head swiftly; the mere thought of food made Romana feel as if she might throw up _again. _She was really not going to enjoy being pregnant. "You ought to keep your strength up" the Doctor said tentatively, and she scowled. "_No, _I don't want any food ever, stop asking me!" she snapped at him, and then she gasped. Where in time had _that _come from? "Oh my, I'm sorry. Doctor, I didn't mean to shout, I just…" she said hurriedly, trailing off because she didn't know what to say. He hugged her, saying "It's alright. You're pregnant, you're allowed to shout as much as you like".

Tears gathered in Romana's eyes. "See, this is what I mean! I don't know anything about being pregnant, I can barely remember what I learned about it in the Academy" she complained. The Doctor suggested that she rinse her mouth to get the taste of sick out of it, and once she'd done that he guided her back into the bedroom. "Okay. If you don't want anything to eat, how about another cup of tea?" he inquired, and she nodded. She wasn't sure if she could keep it down, but she needed something to keep her nerves from fraying.

"I'll go make some then. In the meantime, you ought to put on your pyjamas and read that book I left for you on the bedside table. It'll explain this whole pregnancy thing much better than I can" the Doctor advised Romana. She managed a small smile. "Okay, I will" she nodded, giving him a brief kiss before he left with a promise to return soon. Then she put on her pyjamas, got into bed and picked up the small but thick tome. 'Preparing for Motherhood - A Comprehensive Guide to Pregnancies' by M. A. Ternal, read the front cover. She took a deep breath and opened it.

/

When the Doctor returned five minutes later, she looked up at him with a weak but grateful smile. "Thank you…I really don't like the look of all these symptoms. It does say they get better over time, but…" she trailed off, biting her lip in the most adorable way. The Doctor kicked off his shoes and threw his jacket idly over a chair, joining her on the bed. "Doctor? Um…when your…your first wife was pregnant, was it…difficult?" Romana asked cautiously.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Yeah, it was difficult at times…the stress, the nerves, the nausea…and that was just what I went through" he joked, though judging by the slight grimace on Romana's face it fell rather flat. "Sorry. Love, believe me, this will all be worth it when you're holding our son or daughter in your arms. Pregnancy is uncomfortable, and tiring, and irritating, but it's not about what's happening now. It's about the future. This will be the first Gallifreyan born for over four hundred years, Romana. I think that's pretty special, don't you?"

She smiled. "Yeah…it just doesn't feel quite real right now" she admitted. After all, apart from being sick and craving odd food combinations she hadn't experienced the symptoms, her stomach was still flat…it was hard to believe she was really pregnant, but the sonic didn't lie. "Where will the baby be born?" asked Romana. "The Hospital of the Sisters of the Infinite Schism" the Doctor rattled off at once. It was one of the best and safest hospitals in the universe.

"Okay…" Romana kept reading the book, absently sipping at her tea as she went. The Doctor idly played with her hair, twisting the chocolate-y locks into a plait. Then Romana remembered something. "Doctor, can you fetch my jacket, please?" she asked. He did so, and she searched through the pockets for a second time before pulling out a small box.

Inside was a little teddy bear. It was cocoa coloured, with two black button eyes, and most ridiculous of all, a tiny felt fez sewn to the top of its head between its ears. Romana stroked its furry tummy. "She and Rory must've realised I was pregnant sometime after they…they left. This wasn't just a gift for me…it's for our baby. Their first teddy bear…I think I'll name him Barry".

"That's a great name…do you mean the teddy, or the baby?" the Doctor asked, and she actually giggled. "The teddy bear, silly; I think it's a bit early to give the baby a name. This is really happening, isn't it?" she asked. The Doctor smiled and nodded. Romana picked at a loose thread on the duvet. "Will you tell the others I don't feel well? I don't want to break the news to them…just yet" she admitted. The Doctor smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Sure, darling. Whatever you say".


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who and I never ever will

Pregnant Preparations

Whilst Romana's world was being turned completely on its head, Melody and River were having the time of their lives in the TARDIS wardrobe. The post regenerative trauma was having a very peculiar effect on Melody, as she kept giggling like a madwoman at the slightest provocation. When she first entered the wardrobe, her brand new green eyes landed on a ridiculous multicoloured coat, sending her into peals of hysterical laughter; it was also very infectious, and River laughed right along with her, without having any real idea why they were laughing in the first place.

Flavia came into the wardrobe to find the two of them lying on a pile of clothes, giggling and clutching their sides. "What's so funny?" she asked, setting a mug of tea down on a nearby chair. The wardrobe was a madcap, cluttered mess – it was no wonder the Doctor seemed to wear the same outfit all the time, if _this _was what he'd have to dig through to find another one. River managed to stop laughing long enough to gasp out "I…I'm laughing…because _she's _laughing…ah, ha, ha, hee, hee, ha, ha!"

Melody struggled into a sitting position and choked out between peals of laughter, "I – ha, ha, hee, hee- can't – ha – stop – ha, ha – help me!" Flavia raised an eyebrow. "Hmm...it seems you're experiencing some strange side effects of post regenerative trauma. I suggest you drink this tea, the tannins in the leaves will help your neuron pathways to settle down" she explained. With difficulty, Melody managed to drink a few sips and calmed down considerably. "Oh, that's better. Thanks Au- um, thank you Flavia".

"You're welcome; I'll leave you to get on with things then, if you can manage to navigate this mess" Flavia sighed, walking away. Melody sipped at the tea, feeling her buzzing mind begin revolving more normally. "I can't remember the last time I laughed that much" she admitted, and River smiled in agreement. "Me neither…it was fun though" she grinned. Melody grinned back. "Regeneration really knocks you for a loop, doesn't it?" she noted.

"Oh, tell me about it. I felt like I could take on anything after I regenerated into this body, it was actually a bit scary, but exciting at the same time" River explained, thinking back to that fateful day in Berlin. It was hard to believe how much her life had changed over the years, but she wouldn't have it any other way. "You can live with me" she blurted out suddenly, "in my flat, I mean. I might be able to pull some strings and get you a job at the university as well" she added.

Her sister (it felt good to call Melody that) was rifling through some tops; she held up a turquoise and lime green pinstriped blouse, shook her head and threw it back. "Thanks, that's really generous of you…I don't want to impose though, I can probably buy a flat of my own with the money I've saved up in my bank" Melody assured her. River shook her head and insisted "Really, I don't mind. I have quite a large flat, and it'd be nice to have some company. It can get a bit lonely sometimes".

"Well, I wouldn't want you to be lonely…what do you think?" asked Melody, holding up a short sleeved lilac shirt. River considered it and shook her head. Melody chucked it back on the pile and began rummaging again. "What job did you have before?" asked River, assuming that Melody must have entered into some sort of profession. A reminiscent smile played over Melody's lips. "It took me ages to decide what to do" she recalled, "one day I'd want to be a nurse, like dad, and the next I'd want to write like mum…when I was younger, still ten or eleven years old, I wanted to be a spy".

River grinned. "Like the Corsair?" she guessed. Melody nodded. "All I knew for certain was that I wanted to do something to make my family proud. There were just so many ways to do that, so many opportunities and ideas…it's a shame that its rather the opposite situation nowadays" she commented. River nodded in agreement; even the fifty first century, with all its leaps in technology and inter-species interactions that people from the 21st century couldn't even imagine, still struggled with unemployment issues.

"You did get a job though, didn't you?"

"I got a scholarship for a drama academy…it seemed I had a talent for acting. It was a lot of fun, and I wanted to have a job as an actress, raise millions for charity and stun the world with my flair and grace" Melody struck a flamboyant pose that had River nearly dissolving into giggles again. Fortunately she managed to get herself under control, and asked "Did you become an actress, then?"

"No, I fell in love instead"

"Really? Do tell"

"I thought you might say that. His name was Marcelo Carbone, but we all called him Marc. He was talented, gracious, drop dead gorgeous…I was just eighteen when I started falling for him, you should have seen dad when I first brought it up" Melody and River grinned. "He sounds like quite the catch, what happened with him?"

"It's a long story, so I'll just give you the abridged version for now. Halfway through our last year at the Academy, Marc and I began dating. After we graduated, he invited me to come with him on a tour of America. It was amazing, we saw so much…we dated for a couple of years and then he proposed. I was just twenty years old, I knew I ought to say no and give myself more time to think it through, but I just couldn't help myself. I feel a bit silly thinking about it now. So we got married, and lived in New York for a decade or so, before we moved back to England.

"We both kept acting, but we never got into any big films…still, we made a good life for ourselves. When we were in our forties, he kept acting and travelling a bit, whilst I stayed in England and taught drama at a local university. Don't ever tell him, but…I came across the Doctor back in the sixties, I never _talked _to him, I just saw him now and again. I can't believe he looked so old then" Melody said in a tone close to wonderment. River was more curious about her husband. "Did you ever tell Marc the truth, about how you were from the future?" she inquired.

Melody shook her head. "I wanted to; I almost did, sometimes, but then I thought better of it. You see, Marc was a dreamer at heart, but he was certain they were just dreams. If I ever brought up anything to do with aliens or time travel, he'd always just sort of roll his eyes, and say it was all a load of nonsense. He could be really stubborn about things he didn't believe in, or didn't like- he once refused to take a role in a film because his character would be a fascist, and when they tried to point out it wasn't real, he just said 'Maybe not to you' and walked out".

Her eyes had a faraway look in them as she sighed sadly, and explained "We were married for fifty five years, and then when he was seventy six, he started getting…getting Alzheimer's. I missed the Corsair and everyone all the time, but I always just tried to live my life, not cling to the past...when my Marcelo began fading away, right before my eyes, that was when I first thought of bringing them there, in almost forty years. I wanted him to be cured, to stay with me longer…" a tear dropped from Melody's cheek. She hadn't even realised she was crying. 

River came over and put an arm around her sister's shoulders, silently giving her support. Melody wiped her teary orbs and managed to continue, "I did still have enough sense to ask him what _he _wanted. He said…he told me that if he had never met me, he wouldn't have had nearly so good a life as he did…but it was just his time. His time to rest…he didn't believe he could be cured, but he was sure that even if there was a way, he didn't want it...I mean he didn't want to leave me, but he was so sure he couldn't be saved and he said it was better if we both just…just…let…go…"

Head buried in hands, Melody sobbed as River held her and murmured comforting, meaningless words. "Ngh…s-sorry" she sniffled, rubbing her bloodshot eyes, "it's been ten years, you'd think I'd be over it by now".

"I don't think you can ever 'get over' something like that. It hurts to lose the ones you love…but better to have loved and lost, etcetera. I'd rather love and experience that pain than be as unfeeling as a Cyberman or a Dalek" River admitted, and a still tearful Melody nodded in abject agreement. "I guess I'm just more sensitive today because it's the anniversary of when he passed…I don't mind if you ask one more question about me and Marc, but after that, could we change the subject?" she asked. River nodded and wracked her brains for a good question.

"Did you and Marc ever have any children?"

"No. We did try, but I just couldn't conceive…eventually we gave up and concentrated on our careers. But enough about that…I still need to find a good outfit, these clothes are so uncomfortable…".

/

In the end, Melody picked out a long sleeved navy blue blouse with silver embroidery on the lapels and sleeves, a pair of dark blue linen trousers and black high heels, paired with a silvery grey sleeveless waistcoat. "You look great, very Hollywood" River complimented when Melody emerged from the changing rooms and gave her a twirl. "Thanks. I am starving, do you want to go find the kitchen and get something to eat?" she suggested.

This sounded to River like a most excellent idea, so they went in search of the kitchen. It wasn't a particularly long quest as the TARDIS moved the room they desired right down the corridor from the wardrobe, not that the two of them were complaining. Flavia and the Corsair were there, eating pizza. "Ah, they emerge at last! You two were in there for so long I nearly sent in a search party" the Corsair teased them with a grin. Melody walked right over to him and enveloped him in a tight hug. "I missed you" she said simply.

He was taken off guard by the unexpected hug, but the Corsair quickly recovered and hugged her right back. "I missed you too, Mel. I'm just glad you were happy…you were happy, weren't you?" he asked, and she nodded. "Very happy, and I'm even happier now. I can have a whole new life with River, go on adventures, see the universe… I think I might pick up my old acting career. Melody Pond, fifty first century starlet by day, alien butt kicking superhero by night" she grinned, making the others chuckle.

When there were only three slices of ham and pineapple pizza left, the Doctor walked into the kitchen, took a bite out of one piece, and promptly spat it in the bin. "Ugh, pineapple's rubbish. I don't like pineapple" he complained, pulling a face and putting some bread in the toaster. "Well, then why did you…never mind. Is Romana feeling better?" Flavia inquired. The Doctor had told her and the Corsair, whilst River and Melody were clothes searching, that Romana was feeling quite unwell.

"Oh, yes. I'm just bringing her some toast…she asked me to tell you guys to go to the parlour. We've got something to tell you" the Doctor smiled, and he refused to say another word on the matter. The toast popped up, he buttered it lightly, cut each piece into a heart and left the kitchen. "What do you think they want to tell us?" wondered River. No-one could guess. Once the pizza had been entirely devoured, they went to the parlour and there awaited the arrival of the Doctor and Romana.

Romana had one hand laid against her stomach and the other firmly clasped in the Doctor's hand. "Um…hi guys. You look nice, Melody" she smiled uncertainly, looking very nervous. "Whatever's the matter? You're as white as a sheet" Flavia said in concern. Romana bit her lip and explained "I err…I found out something that's sort of a big deal, um…I'm…Th-the Doctor and I are…well, we're…h-having a…a baby" she admitted.

There followed a silence so intense you could have heard a pin drop, and then Melody and River both squealed in delight. Flavia might have done so as well, but she would never admit to it later on. "Oh my gosh, that's wonderful!" Melody gushed, getting out of her chair and hurrying to embrace Romana. River quickly followed suit, but it didn't take them long to realise that Romana seemed rather reluctant to hug them back. "Um, are you alright?" asked River.

"No, I'm terrified. I have no idea what I'm doing" she moaned. The Doctor gave her a one armed hug and said "I told you, Romana, you'll be absolutely fine. Barry, tell her she'll be fine"; he held up a small brown teddy bear and waggled it in front of Romana, saying in a squeaky voice, "Yes, you will be fine! Listen to the Doctor!" Romana chuckled in spite of herself. "Where did that come from?" ask Flavia.

"It was in that box Melody gave me, from her parents. The baby's first teddy" Romana smiled softly, stroking the little bear's tummy. "Oh! That reminds me, I've got something for you two" the Corsair told River and Melody, before hurrying off. He came back with two long, thin boxes, and handed one each to his two 'honorary nieces'. Inside they found shiny new sonic screwdrivers…the Doctor recognised, with a pang in his hearts, the sonic that River had taken to the Library. "Wow…thanks, Corsair. This is brilliant" Melody grinned.

"Yes, thank you. Today certainly has been eventful, hasn't it?" River commented, thought that was a bit of an understatement. They settled down to talk and enjoy each other's company; then later on, River and Melody would return home to write the book and send it to Amy to be published. They promised to put in a note from the Time Quartet, thanking them and saying goodbye. Romana, however…she was actually looking forward, to saying hello.

/

Hi guys! When you review, you can suggest things that I can put in other chapters. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, vworp on!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Pregnant Preparations

The Corsair hugged Melody and River tightly when they left the TARDIS. He understood why they were going back to River's home – they wanted to get to know each other properly, spend time with the 'twin sister' they had never had. He just couldn't help but feel rather jealous. For the first time in centuries he'd gotten close to a child, and now that child was all grown up, regenerated, and he wanted to know about her life. Melody had told them all a few things, but nothing special. Nothing she would tell someone she trusted…and he wished that someone could be him.

He supposed it made sense, that Melody would prefer River's company over theirs. After all, the last time they saw her, she'd been a niece to them, innocent and needing to be protected. Spending time with him and the others probably felt like moving back in with one's parents – awkward, in other words. Besides, Melody and River were actually related, they shared genes and he…he had just been pretending to be family. They all had.

"What's wrong?" asked Flavia, and the Corsair started. He realised he was in the console room, with Flavia, but not the Doctor or Romana. "Where're the others?" he asked, and Flavia replied "Romana went into the kitchen and smelt the pizza we'd been eating, it made her sick again, poor thing. She's probably in bed and the Doctor, well, he's either with her or he's off who knows where"

"Right, yeah". The Corsair seemed uncomfortable, and quickly changed the subject. "Uh, did you want something Flavia?" he asked casually. She raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I wanted to know what was wrong. You've looked glum ever since we dropped River and Melody off…you know you _can _just go visit them whenever you like" Flavia pointed out. The Corsair dragged a hand over his face. "Yeah, I know, I…oh, it's nothing. I'm gonna go have a shower or something" he said vaguely, wandering off.

Before he'd left the console room Flavia called "The letter might help", which was such an odd statement that he turned and asked, "You what?"

Another eyebrow raise – "the letter, from Amy? Melody gave it to you. It might help with your 'nothing' problem" Flavia explained with a pointed glance. The Corsair rolled his eyes at her. "Whatever you say, mum" he grumbled sarcastically, before walking off. After a shower, he took out the letter from his coat pocket and ran his fingers along the yellowed envelope.

It wasn't that he didn't want to read Amy's letter. It was just, once he read the letter that would be it. No more messages, no more late night phone calls when she couldn't sleep, no more fun playing with Melody… this letter didn't just represent Amy's final words to him, it represented her final words, period. The Corsair had gone through a lot in his life, most of which he'd never talk about, and a decades old letter from a single human was bringing him close to tears.

_For Omega's sake, pull yourself together. It's just a letter, and you can always talk to Melody if you want to know more… _with a deep breath, the Corsair slit open the envelope with a small penknife. He had agreed to only carry one weapon with him, but really, only an unprepared idiot carried just one weapon and what the Doctor didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He slid the piece of paper out, unfolded it, and began to read.

/

2nd September 1950

Dear Cory,

I just want to say, first of all, that if you're blaming yourself in some way for what happened then you can stop that right now. It was not your fault, it was nobody's fault. Melody made a mistake and her parents chose to follow, to protect her. I want to thank you for letting me go. I think if you had tried to stop me it would have been that much harder, because how can you ask someone to choose between two people they love?

When I first met you, Romana and Flavia you were all strangers, and pretty intimidating. I was worried you wouldn't think much of Rory and I; just because the Doctor loved humans didn't mean all of you would. The more I got to know you, the more I realised you were funny and interesting…and hurting. Okay, you reminded me of the Doctor. You both have lot in common. I first started to like the Doctor when I was just seven, and he was this funny strange 'imaginary' friend…then suddenly I had two funny friends, and it was brilliant.

But we got even closer than that, didn't we? First I was your niece, then your sister. I hope I was a better sibling to you than your brother…it still makes me feel a betrayed on your behalf, even now, I can't imagine how you must feel. I bet you'd say 'I'm fine, Scottie, it was ages ago' – like I said, you and the Doctor, lot in common. But never mind your past…you'll want to hear what happened to us. Okay, so when Rory and I arrived we were on this vacant lot, it was the dead of night, freezing cold and we were somewhere near the sea. We think it was where Winter Quay used to be.

We searched for Melody all night, everywhere we could think of. We even went back to Grayle's home, but he said he couldn't care less where she was and we had to run before he had us arrested. Then I remembered there was one place we hadn't looked, the graveyard. We found her huddled on a bench outside the gates. All three of us were cold, stiff and lost but we were together and we were so happy. Just remember that, we were happy.

It was the 12 August 1939 when we were sent back – Rory found a newspaper. A man came up to us and asked if we were the Ponds, said that he was a landlord for some nearby flats and that he'd been paid to let us stay until we bought a home of our own. By River, no less – I suppose she used the Vortex Manipulator again.

I worked as a secretary and he worked as a nurse, but he trained to be a doctor, Dr Rory Pond-Williams. Melody and I were so proud. He invented a type of hospital bed that was much more comfortable than the ones they had. I also wrote children's books about our adventures, and two novels, but I didn't publish any until after the war. The novels were 'Summer Falls' and 'Night Thief of Ill-Harbour' – keep your eyes out for them.

We lived in the flats until January 1945, when Rory got conscripted. He made it, of course, I always knew he would. He's made of tough stuff, that man. It wasn't all doom and gloom though. After the war, Rory and I had earned enough between us to buy a little house. We also adopted a son, Anthony in 1947 when he was ten years old. He took a bit of time to warm up to us – his first father had died in the War and his mother left him at the orphanage because she couldn't afford to keep him. It was hard at first but now, three years later, we're all very happy.

Right now Rory is at work in his clinic and the kids are at school. In fact, Melody goes to The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, one of the most prestigious acting schools in the whole US. We're all so proud we could burst. Anyway, I'm here on my own and I decided now would be a good time to write to you. I meant to do this sooner, really I did, but you know how time is. It just gets away from you no matter how much you want to hold on to it.

I miss you. I miss your jokes and you calling me 'Scottie' – the other day I swore I heard someone call out Scottie and I looked around, thinking it was you. I miss how you would protect us no matter what. I don't regret trapping myself in the past, not for a moment, but I still miss you all every day. We can't change the past though, can we? Well, sometimes we can, if it's not a fixed point. Look at me, I'm using Time Lord humour; you've ruined me, ha, ha.

I want to tell you every single thing about what's happened in the past eleven years, but then I'd be here all day and night. Talk to Melody if you're curious, but I'm sure you can tell I was telling the truth in that afterword – that we lived well and were very happy. I hope you're happy too, wherever you are, and we all send congratulations to Romana for her new baby – but if she hasn't figured it out yet, don't tell her!

All my love, Scottie

/

The Corsair was smiling widely by the time he finished the letter, and he traced his finger over those last four words. "Same to you, Amy Pond" he sighed, "same to you".

Down the corridor, much further down, Flavia was sitting in a small study with her letter from Rory, which she had just finished reading. He had said much the same thing as Amy had to the Corsair, not that Flavia was aware of the other letters contents. He missed her, was glad to have met her, he was happy with his life in old New York no matter how much he missed his old life in modern day London and on the TARDIS.

There was one line in particular that touched Flavia deeply. 'Before meeting you, I sometimes still felt like a third wheel, not as into the adventures as Amy and the Doctor were. Making friends with someone who thought the running was as insane as I did was – well, it was wonderful'. The truth was, she felt the same way. For most of her life Flavia had never even considered exploring the universe, and having a sane person around to talk to (apart from perhaps Romana, but she could be just as bad as the others) was, yes, wonderful.

She put the letter back in its envelope, went to her bedroom, and placed it with care in a padded, locked chest, the key to which she wore on a chain around her neck. In the drawer she held her prize possessions; a scrap of cloth from her old Presidential robes, a thick old tome on Gallifreyan Laws and Politics, a plain gold ring passed down from her great, great, great, great grandmother, and now the letter. With a sigh, she went to find a nice book to read.

/

The Doctor, meanwhile, was hovering over a sleeping Romana. He was ready to be on call if she needed anything, but she seemed intent on remaining deeply unconscious. He wondered if she hoped that her pregnancy would turn out to be nothing more than a bad dream; and he hoped he could convince her that this was really a miracle.

In the meantime, he recalled the diary he'd been given by Melody, from Amy and Rory. The Doctor couldn't help but wonder, why give their diary to _him_? Not that he didn't appreciate it, he would be glad to have even the smallest reminder of them in his life, like Amy's glasses. He hoped she found some new ones. It was just…the Corsair and Flavia had received letters, written directly to them, Romana had been given an early baby shower gift and the afterword had been addressed to all of the Quartet...so where was his special, personal goodbye?

He supposed they could have written something in the diary, but not in every entry, surely. He'd thought Amy at least would want to say goodbye, and he began to wonder if perhaps, she'd been so amused and felt such camaraderie with the Corsair that her Raggedy Doctor just wasn't interesting enough anymore.

_No, no. That's ridiculous, you weren't competing with him. Amy was your friend and his friend, we were all friends! _He insisted to himself, forcing down a feeling of jealousy that rose in him at the thought. On the bed beside him, Romana stirred and frowned in her sleep. He stroked her hair until she relaxed once more, rolling over and draping herself half on top of him. He decided to simply read the diary; they must have wanted him to, if they asked their daughter to pass it on to him.

As he read, he realised that they'd actually given him the best goodbye gift of all. By the looks of it, Flavia and the Corsair wouldn't have long letters detailing the Pond's lives – he would share the diary with them, of course, but it was a…well, a privilege to be able to read it first. He smiled, he chuckled (softly), and he even teared up a bit. Just a bit, mind.

The final, shortest entry of the diary didn't start with 'Dear Diary'. It began,

/

Dear Doctor,

I forgot to say thank you. I always meant to. Thank you for letting Rory and I go. Thank you for letting us come with you, on the most amazing trip through time and space. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you. Thank you for crashing into my yard when I was seven, and for coming back. Thank you for saving Romana, the Corsair and Flavia.

Congratulations! What for, well, might be spoilers. I know you'll be excellent at it though. My Centurion is gone, soon I will follow. There's one more thing I have to thank you for. Thank you for giving me hope, all those years ago. It's sustained me for eighty years, and I'm so grateful I met you.

Goodnight, my Raggedy Doctor…and goodbye

/

Sad and happy tears mingled upon the Doctor's cheeks, but he didn't try to wipe them away. It hurt, knowing these were the last words his Amy wrote, possibly the last thing she did, before passing away. He hoped she didn't die alone. "Goodnight, my Amelia Pond" he whispered, before setting the diary on the bedside table, and switching off the light.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

A/N: I have made a decision! This story will be thirteen chapters long, so basically it'll be like a series in the show, only with pregnancy. Yeah. If you suggest anything, it needs to be something I can put into a chapter and not an idea for a whole chapter. Okay? Okay!

Pregnant Preparations

The next day, the Corsair rose late in the morning (not that it really mattered what time it was) and entered the kitchen to find Flavia already half way through a plate of bacon and eggs. "Morning Flavia, where're the others?" he asked, breathing in the delicious scent of fried food. "Is this for me?" he asked, pointing to a plate left out on the countertop. "I thought you might want some. Also, the Doctor was making Romana breakfast in bed earlier; I'd imagine he's with her right now" replied Flavia, sipping her coffee.

He took the plate and sat down opposite her, taking a hearty bite of the crisp bacon with a sigh of contentment. "Oh, that's good. Mm. You really know how to fry meat" he said, and Flavia blinked at the peculiar compliment. "Um, thank you…I think. Oh, I just remembered. The Doctor told us we could have at least one more trip before he parked us somewhere 'safe and quiet', though I've no idea where that could be. It's your turn to choose, I believe".

"I still don't get how you keep track of whose turn it is when half the time we don't get to where we wanted to get to"

"I'm just good at it. Now, are you going to pick a destination?"

"Eh, maybe later…why don't we just talk? I mean, we don't really do that, you and I"

"We talk all the time"

"Yeah, but it's always about the adventure we're having slash have just had. Besides, we don't really have conversations; I say something daft, you roll your eyes, that's about it most of the time"

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk whilst we're not adventuring for several months"

"Well, if you don't _want _to talk to me…"

"No, wait. I'm sorry, that was rude of me. Of course we can talk, Corsair. What would you like to talk about?"

"…I didn't think this through"

To his surprise, Flavia actually giggled. Then she snorted. A grin crept over the Corsair's face. "Did you just snort?" he asked. She shook her head, blushing profusely. "You did! You giggle-snorted, that is too funny!" he laughed, and she scowled at him. "It is _not _funny, and I _didn't _snort. Time Lady's do not snort" she insisted, but the Corsair ignored her and continued to snigger. Flavia made to take a bite of her breakfast when she heard him say, "Oink, oink!"

Flavia levelled a death glare at him that would have cooked a frozen turkey, but the Corsair just continued to grin, completely unfazed. She groaned in frustration. "Sometimes I wish that House had taken your vocal cords instead of your arm" she muttered, but not low enough. The Corsair's expression went from amused to mock hurt, the twitching at the corners of his lips belying his true emotions. "Oh, you don't mean that. I know you love me really" he told her, and she gave him a deadpan stare. "Like?...Tolerate?"

She sighed. "Do you remember how we first met?" the Corsair asked out of the blue, "I mean, I remember, but do you?"

"Um, yes, I'd recently been inaugurated as, well, acting President of Gallifrey. Then you came to ask me to revoke your censure for…stealing the Portrait of Rassilon, and I gave in. I still can't believe I did that" Flavia face-palmed. There were a few things she regretted doing and that was pretty high on the list. The Corsair grinned again. "Ah, don't worry. Better women than you have tried to resist my manly allure and failed. I smiled, you swooned…"

"No, I did not. Time Lady's don't 'swoon'"

"Just like they don't snort?"

"Oh, be quiet. Corsair, that all happened centuries ago. Why are you only just bringing it up now?" Flavia inquired. The Corsair made no reply, but merely sat and stared at her. Flavia rolled her eyes and said "I didn't mean 'be quiet' literally. Must you be so irritating?"

"Um…I don't know, and yes. I just remembered it now, actually. As for being irritating, it's all part of my natural charm"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. You hardly ever take things seriously"

"And you hardly ever take things unseriously. Quite the pair we make, eh?" the Corsair smirked. Flavia rolled her eyes, again, and shrugged. "I suppose so…it's funny, really. If someone had told me back then that one day I'd be travelling the universe with you, the Doctor and Romana, I think I would have had them sent to the mental clinic in the hospital. It's growing on me though, this life. Speaking of life, isn't it wonderful that Romana is having a new baby?" she smiled.

The Corsair smiled as well. "Yeah, it's great…what's up?" he questioned, seeing a rather alarmed expression cross the Time Lady's face. She blinked back to reality and explained, "I just realised…I really, really hope the child takes after its mother". The thought of an even more energetic, messy, miniature version of the Doctor was quite an disquieting notion, at least to her. To the Corsair it was apparently a more humorous idea, but then again, there didn't seem to be much that _didn't _amuse him.

"You know, it isn't who the baby takes after that we need to worry about. It's Romana" the Corsair told her sagely, and she raised an eyebrow. "Well, yes, I'd imagine she'll need our support in the coming months" she pointed out, thinking it would obvious that they would worry about Romana – though none more so than the Doctor, she had no doubt. The Corsair shook his head. "No, not that; I mean yeah, of course we'll support her and all that but, she's _pregnant_, and you know what that means"

"I'm not sure I think it means what _you _think it means"

"It means that she's going to be an absolute _terror. _Flying into rages at the drop of a pin, bursting into tears at the drop of a pin; it'll be like walking over a hornets nest just trying to talk to her" the Corsair explained, actually sounding as if he believed it all. Flavia couldn't believe it. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Corsair, just how many pregnant women have you actually been around?"

"Enough"

"How many?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Just answer the question"

"Fine, one, my brother's wife" he admitted shortly, making it clear he didn't want to talk about either his brother or sister-in-law. "You know, all pregnant women are different. Romana is bound to be emotional some of the time, but not _all _the time" Flavia pointed out reasonably. "How do you know? Have you ever been pregnant?" the Corsair challenged.

"No, but neither have you"

"I almost was"

"What?"

"I almost got pregnant, in my fourth incarnation. It's a long story. Wanna hear it?"

"Um, no thanks" she said uncomfortably, immediately losing her appetite. The Corsair shrugged and went back to eating. "Are you going to finish that?" he asked through a mouthful of bacon, pointing at her plate. She pushed it towards him and he shovelled her food onto his plate. "Thanks!"

/

Earlier that morning, Romana had shaken the Doctor awake and asked "Hey. Could you get me some breakfast, please?" He'd nodded straight away, scrambling out of bed and hurrying out the room. Then he'd come back and inquired "Um, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Apple slices stuck in chocolate swirl ice cream…and scrambled eggs on toast"

"Right, got it"

So he'd gone and made scrambled eggs, toasted bread, cut up apples and scooped ice cream…when Flavia came in he was just putting the finishing touches on it. She didn't bat an eyelid, but merely asked if there were any eggs left and could he pass her the frying pan? So everything was ready, and he took the breakfast back to his beautiful wife, and it was only when she started to dig into the ice cream with relish that he realised he hadn't made breakfast for himself.

"Hey, Romana, I'm just going to go and make my own breakfast" he said, moving towards the door, only for her to look up at him in alarm. "You can't leave!" she protested, almond eyes wide, "what if I need you?"

"Well, just tell me through our bond, and I'll come straight back" he assured her, but she didn't exactly _look _reassured. In fact she looked so small and insecure that it was all he could do to pull himself away, and he could sense her anxiety rising every moment he was away. In the end, he resisted the pull of his growling stomach and returned to their bedroom, holding her in his arms and kissing her. "I won't leave, not if you don't want me to" he promised.

Romana looked guilty. "No, you're hungry. I can't just keep you here if you're hungry" she protested. He thought about asking her to share some of her breakfast, but thought better of it. "Romana…what are you afraid of?" he asked instead. Romana froze, and swallowed a bite of chocolate ice cream covered apple. "I'm afraid…of something going wrong. There's so many things that could happen…I could have a miscarriage, and we might not save our baby if that happened, and I…I can't bear the thought of losing our baby, Doctor" she sobbed.

The Doctor stroked her hair and wondered what he could say to make her feel better. "The chances of that happening are actually really small, and…if it did happen, I would do everything I could to make sure our baby was saved" he swore. Inside he felt relieved, because Romana _wanted _this baby. She was unnerved by the idea of being pregnant, and probably being a mother as well (though he knew she'd make an absolutely brilliant one), but she still wanted their child, and that…that made him happier than he could say.

In a small voice, Romana murmured "Um…you can have the scrambled eggs if you like. I just realised I don't want them". He picked up the plate, silently thanking the TARDIS' ability to keep plates and food warm indefinitely, and set it on his lap. When they had finished their respective breakfasts (and Romana had all but licked the bowl of ice cream clean, she was that hungry), the Doctor suggested they got dressed and went to meet the others in the console room. "I told Flavia to tell the Corsair that he had to pick somewhere nice and non-threatening" he assured Romana.

When they got to the console room however, the Corsair and Flavia were nowhere to be seen. "Huh, I thought they'd be in here. Oh well, I actually have some maintenance work I've been meaning to do. So you just sit down here, okay, and I'll be right under the console if you need me". He gave Romana a kiss and walked down the steps, waving up at her from beneath the glass floor. She smiled and waved back, before looking down at her midsection and gently rubbing it. "You and I are going to be okay, little one, aren't we?"

Ten minutes or so later, the rest of the Time Quartet arrived in the console room. "Hello Romana, how are you feeling?" asked Flavia, and she smiled. "Oh, I feel a lot better. Doctor!" she called down through the glass floor, and he heaved himself up between the railings. "Oh, good, you guys are here. Now, I know it's the Corsair's turn to pick our destination, but I just found out that the TARDIS is low on fuel so we're going to have to take a detour for, well, 24 hours. You don't mind, do you?" the bow tied alien rambled as he came up to the middle level.

"Uh, no…actually, how do you fuel the TARDIS? Have you got a spare Eye of Harmony lying around somewhere?" asked the Corsair. "Ha! I wish. No, there's a space time rift running through the middle of Cardiff, with enough energy coming out of it for the TARDIS to recharge" the Doctor explained as he set the co-ordinates for the Roald Dahl Plass. It was a bright, sunny day – well, as bright as it ever got in Wales – and the streets were filled with people.

Romana had never been to Cardiff, and she looked around in curiosity. "Oh, I just remembered – I'll be right back!" the Doctor rambled, darting back into the police box. He re-emerged minutes later and handed Romana a small pink square. "What's this?" she asked, puzzled. "Chewable anti-sickness tablet; it's really meant to be for motion sickness but I think it would work on morning sickness as well. Plus it tastes like strawberries!" he grinned. Romana popped the square in her mouth and chewed, only to grimace in disgust.

She swallowed it with difficulty, looking like she'd taken a large bite out of a lemon. "Ugh…that tasted awful, Doctor. Are you sure it's strawberry flavoured?" she asked. He took out a packet of the horrid tasting things and said "Yeah, it says so right there, strawberry…oh, right, your taste buds are all…wibbley with the baby and everything" he realised. Romana scowled at him. "Now you remember that?"

Before the Doctor could respond, Flavia exclaimed "Oh, I think I see a department store. Why don't we go shopping, Romana?" she suggested. The cross frown swiftly vanished from Romana's face as she smiled and nodded. "Yes, okay, that sounds lovely" she agreed. The Corsair pulled a face when he thought they weren't looking and said "Yeah, lovely…I think I'll pass, no offence. I'm gonna go find a pub, are you coming Doctor?"

"No, no I'll stay with Romana…besides, this me isn't very good with alcohol" the Doctor explained. The Corsair shrugged and wandered off, saying that he'd come find them later. It didn't take him long to find a busy pub on a street corner, full of people talking in low voices or lip reading the news presenter on the silent TV screen in the corner. The Corsair brought a couple of pints and made his way to an empty table, taking a satisfying gulp of one ice cold beer.

Meanwhile, the others had gone to the department store, where Romana and Flavia had gone to try on clothes whilst the Doctor was instructed to 'amuse himself and stay out of trouble'. When he pointed out that the main way he amused himself was to _get into _trouble, both women had stared him down until he agreed to behave himself. The Time Ladies went straight to the women's wear section and browsed through the clothes racks.

"Oh, Flavia, look at this one" Romana laughed, holding up a t-shirt with a 'strawberries and cream' motif on the front. Flavia's lips quirked into a smile; she tilted her head, considering, and said "You should try it on; I think it would suit you". So she did, and came out of the dressing room wearing the top just as the Doctor came bounding up, a wide smile on his face.

"Romana, look what I got! Is that a new top? I get it, strawberries and cream. It suits you!" he rambled. Romana blinked and smiled. "Thanks…John" she said for the benefit of the bemused sales girl, "now I'd better change back into my blouse so I can buy this…"

"Wait, you've gotta see what I've bought! You'll love it," said the Doctor, rummaging in the basket he was carrying, "I've got a binky, and some little cardboard books with pictures, and lots of nappies and…Pippa! Pippa the penguin, penguins are cool. And she _squeaks_!" Romana's husband held the stuffed penguin out to her and squeezed it; the toy made a 'wee-woo' sound. Romana couldn't help but chuckle, and the Doctor's grin got even wider. "Have you really spent all this time buying things for the baby?" she asked, and he blinked. "…Maybe".

Romana shook her head and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You're ridiculous, and wonderful" she told him, right before he pulled her into a longer kiss. Flavia cleared her throat, noting the stares they were drawing from other shoppers, but the Doctor and Romana kept kissing regardless. When they pulled apart, the Doctor bopped Romana's nose with Pippa's soft yellow beak, making her smile.

/

The Corsair was halfway through his second beer when he felt a weird twinge, like walking into an upright trampoline. Caught off guard, the world actually seemed to spin and he gripped the edge of the table in support. Frowning at the beers, he surreptitiously scanned them and determined that no, they didn't have any more alcohol than should be expected. Besides, he was not about to get intoxicated after a mere one and a half pints – whatever had made him feel so strange, it wasn't the beer.

The sensation persisted, like in some part of his awareness, someone was holding down a taut string. He closed his eyes and zeroed in on the sensation, past the sensory background noise of creaking chairs, mindless chatter, squeaking glasses and pouring liquid...he could feel the timelines flowing around him. Everything seemed normal…except for the fixed point bending and twisting time around it, making him feel almost nauseous with the wrongness of how time was flowing.

His eyes snapped open and stared right at a handsome young man at the bar opposite him. The fixed point – the Corsair thought about abandoning his beer and sneaking out to warn the others there was a human fixed point wandering around Cardiff. It was too late though; the man had already spotted him and was weaving through the tables towards the Corsair. "Hey, mind if I sit there?" he asked with an American accent, nodding towards the spare seat beside the Corsair.

The Time Lord quickly glanced around for another seat, but there were none available. "...Alright, yeah" he agreed reluctantly, "name's Cory…Pond. Cory Pond". His rather unwelcome table mate grinned and held out a hand to shake. "Hello, Cory Pond. I'm Captain Jack Harkness".


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who and I never will

A/N: Remember, you can suggest things you want to see in this story, so long as it's something small. It doesn't have to be about the pregnancy, it can be interactions between characters as well.

Pregnant Preparations

_Okay, this human – assuming he is human – is a fixed point in time. Living beings aren't supposed to be fixed points in time, hence the weird feeling I'm getting off of him. The question is how he's a fixed point, and why? _The Corsair had a lot of questions, and no good ways to get some answers. He somehow doubted that outright inquiring "Why are you a fixed point in time?" would go over very well…no, this required a more subtle approach.

"Nice to meet you, Captain; so uh, are you here on holiday?" he asked casually. Jack lowered his glass, wiped some froth from his lip and replied "Surprised that an American would be here in Cardiff? It's okay, I get that a lot. No, actually I'm working".

"Whereabouts?"

"In a shoe store" Jack answered calmly. The Corsair didn't know what to make of that; it didn't seem like a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. "What, are you the Captain of Shoes?" he joked, and Jack burst out laughing even though it wasn't really that funny. "Ha! That's a good one. How about you, Cory Pond? What's your job?"

Obviously saying 'time traveller' was out of the question, so he went with the next best thing. "I'm an archaeologist, actually. I specialise in ancient civilisations" the Corsair replied, and Jack raised a sceptical eyebrow, leaning back in his chair and sipping his beer. "I didn't know there were any ancient civilisations around these parts" he commented, and it was clear he didn't believe the Corsair. "Oh, there's not. _I'm _here on holiday" the Time Lord replied calmly.

"Right, right. Here with a friend?" asked Jack, nodding towards the two glasses on the Corsair's side of the table. He shrugged and replied "What can I say? I like my drink". He took another sip, all the while trying to work out just what the deal was with Jack Harkness. _It would be a lot easier if I could scan him, find out if he's really human or some sort of alien experiment, but I can't do it whilst he's watching me like that. _"Problem?" he asked, a little defensively.

Jack held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry, don't mean to pry. It would be awfully rude of me to start questioning someone I'd only just met for no reason, after all" he pointed out, in a way that made it quite clear he knew exactly what the Corsair was up to. The Corsair weighed his options; continue getting to know Jack and making him suspicious, or simply asking him what he wanted to know and making the other man think he was a nutcase at best, or a threat at worst. He was pretty confident he could take Jack on, so he leaned forwards. "Tell me, Captain. What are you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about"-

"Oh, but I think you do. Let's face it, neither of us are telling the truth and we both know it. Now we could either keep drinking and loosen our tongues that way, or we could simply come clean like mature people. What do you say?" the Corsair asked with a friendly smile. Jack stared at him for a long while, took a large swig of beer, and set the empty glass down on the table with a _chink _of finality. A few other patrons looked around, but swiftly went back to their own drinks and conversations, unheeding of the two men staring each other down in the corner of the crowded bar.

Slowly, Jack nodded, but before the Corsair could speak he held up a hand and said "You go first, since it was your idea". _ I suppose I ought to have expected that _the Corsair thought, before replying "Fair enough. My real name is the Corsair, I'm a time traveller, and I came here with three other friends. Friends which I happen to be rather protective of" he mentioned off handedly, letting the implied threat hang in the air. Jack gave him a measuring glance.

"Okay...I work for an organisation known as Torchwood. We defend the Earth from alien attacks. I used to be a time agent like you, until I got trapped on Earth when my Vortex Manipulator burnt out".

"What makes you think I'm a time agent?"

"Because you're still keeping secrets; for one thing, there's no way that 'the Corsair' is your real name. The only other person I know with a name like that is..." Jack trailed off as realisation dawned, and the Corsair realised, _He knows the Doctor – of course! Jack Harkness, the immortal, the Doctor told us about him ages ago. Stupid memory, I can't believe my age is catching up to me. _

The immortal former Time Agent continued to stare at the Corsair in disbelief. He even poked the Time Lord's chest, as if to make sure that he was real. They were attracting stares, so the Corsair downed the rest of his second pint and suggested "Why don't we take a walk?" So they left the bar, and when they'd walked away from the milling throng they stopped on a street corner and turned to each other. Then both men said in unison,

"You know the Doctor?"

"You're a Time Lord?"

"I asked first!"

With a sigh, the Captain admitted "Yeah, I know the Doctor. Never mind that though – are you what I think you are?" he demanded in a low voice, disbelief evident in his voice. The Corsair was about to answer when he felt a mind pressing against his, and held up a finger to say 'hold that thought'. Then he closed his eyes and let the telepathic message invade his thoughts. _Corsair, we've finished shopping, we're waiting for you at the TARDIS. Where are you? _Asked Flavia.

_Talking to Jack Harkness, that immortal man the Doctor told us about...I might have clued him in about being a Time Lord_

_You did what? You do realise we're supposed to be sticking to the shadows, which means not telling random people what we are. What if he hadn't been a friend of the Doctor's?_

_Okay, I messed up, I'm sorry. I'll come back but don't blame me if he tags along _the Corsair replied, and opened his eyes. Jack was staring at him, halfway between being curious and being unnerved. "Well?" he prompted. The Corsair straightened the lapels of his coat and replied, "I have to go, my friends are expecting me. It was nice talking to you, Captain". He walked away, not having to look back to know the immortal man was following him. To be fair the man's immortality was like a beacon in the timelines, blaring out a warning to avoid at all costs. He'd never been one for warnings.

When they reached the TARDIS, the Doctor moved partly in front of Romana in a protective gesture. "Jack! Good to see you. How've you been?" he smiled at the captain, who shrugged as if to say 'same old, same old' and smiled at Romana, who looked a bit ill at ease for some reason. "Captain Jack Harkness, and who might you be?" he inquired, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "That's my wife you're flirting with, Captain" he said shortly.

This elicited further stares of disbelief from Jack, who looked between the Doctor and Romana with wide eyes. "No way; well_, _you're a lucky man. I'm so glad _your _life is going so well" he told the Doctor with an oddly strained smile, which was puzzling. "Thanks…Jack, is something wrong?"

"Oh, not at all, why would there be? I'd like to be introduced to your lovely wife, you know" Jack replied with a charming smile that didn't reach his eyes. The Doctor looked over his shoulder at Romana, and frowned in concern when he noticed how pale she looked. "Ro, what's wrong?" he asked, putting a hand on her back and tenderly brushing a strand of hair from her face. She gave him a weak smile. "I'm okay, I just feel a bit sick" she explained.

"Do you want another tablet?" the Doctor offered, and she pulled a face and replied "No thanks, I'm sure it'll pass".

"I'm not sure it will. It's probably him that's making you feel sick – no offence" he added to Jack, who looked bewildered. "Hold on" he protested, "what do you mean, I'm making her feel sick?"

"You're not…well, maybe a little bit, but I can manage, really" Romana insisted, putting a hand to her stomach. Jack noticed that the other woman, whose name he hadn't learned, was giving him a rather wide berth as well. "Would one of you please tell me what I'm doing wrong – do I smell?" he wondered, sniffing his clothes. He had been running recently. "No, no" the Corsair answered quickly, "well, a little bit, but that's not why you're making us feel sick. It's actually because you shouldn't exist – again, no offence".

"Jack, I told you before. You're wrong, you're a fixed point in time. We look at you and all we see is something that shouldn't even be" the Doctor said solemnly, and Jack's eyes widened once more with the realisation that they were all Time Lords and Ladies. "That's not true" Romana said firmly, voice unwavering despite the twisting in her stomach. "Romana…" the Doctor began, and she glared at him. "Are you disagreeing with me?"

He shook his head quickly, holding his hands up to show his surrender. "No, no, definitely not, whatever you say dear" he rambled hurriedly, not wanting to upset his pregnant wife, who huffed and insisted "Just because Jack feels strange doesn't mean we have to treat him like a leper! My name's Romana, it's a pleasure to meet you, and this is Flavia" she introduced herself and the other Time Lady, who gave him a slightly stiff smile.

Jack smiled gratefully at her and replied "The feeling is mutual, and I'm sorry I make you feel uncomfortable"; he smiled charmingly at Romana, Flavia and even the Corsair, but avoided the Doctor's eyes for some reason. "You know, there is a way you could make it up to us" the Corsair remarked, "you could show us this 'shoe store' you work in" he added, and Jack nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay. Come with me".

They followed him through the crowds and streets, down a nondescript side street to a shoe store with an 'out of business' sign in the window. After checking to make sure that the coast was clear, no nosy bystanders watching them, Jack knocked on the door on a rhythm, 'tap-tap-tap-tap-tap'. Something clicked, and the door opened. Jack gestured them inside and shut the door behind them once they'd all entered.

The inside of the shop was pretty small, with a few chairs and a couch in one corner, pieces of alien technology strewn about on tables or on the floor, a workbench with a sink and couple of Bunsen burners, a rather grimy window and a box of pizza crusts. "Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting company" Jack explained, stuffing the pizza in the bin. Romana looked around in concern. "You don't live here, do you?" she asked. There was a door marked 'Toilet' and another door marked 'Yard' but this seemed to be the entirety.

"Oh, no – well, I don't really live anywhere, per se. I usually sleep in Torchwood's new base, which isn't this place, this is more of an…extra outlet, you might say" Jack said vaguely, before asking her and Flavia "Would either of you lovely ladies like a drink? I think I've got some coffee" he said, looking in a rather barren cupboard above the sink. "I wouldn't mind" Flavia admitted; Jack looked at Romana, who shook her head. "I can't have any even if I wanted to, I'm pregnant".

Jack blinked in surprise and then beamed. "Congratulations" he told Roman, who smiled. Then she looked at the Doctor sharply and asked "What?" He jumped, shaking his head and fumbling with his hands moving every which way. "What? Nothing, I didn't say anything!" he protested awkwardly, looking more and more nervous the longer she glared at him. "You were thinking I shouldn't have told Jack about me being pregnant, even though he's a friend and you can trust him.

"If I didn't think I could trust him, I wouldn't have said anything. I'm not going to endanger our baby Doctor, do you think I'm an idiot?!" she demanded a touch hysterically. The Doctor shook his head so fast it looked like he might get whiplash. "No! No, no, no, no, _no. _You're not an idiot, Romana, you're smart; you're the smartest woman in the universe!" he replied hurriedly. Then the Corsair pitched in saying "And pretty, don't forget pretty"

"Yes! Yes, you're the prettiest, smartest, most wonderful person in the universe and please don't be mad at me" the Doctor pouted. Romana's scowl softened until a tentative smile was playing around her lips. "Okay, you're forgiven" she told him, leaning in for a kiss. When they pulled away, the Doctor noticed Jack looked almost impressed, but also seemed strangely jealous. "If I didn't believe you were really married earlier, I do now" he quipped.

Once he'd made Flavia a cup of coffee, Jack said that he was just going to go out into the yard for some fresh air. The Doctor followed him out, wanting to get to the bottom of what was bothering his former companion. "Hey, Jack. Is something wrong?" he asked, but the other man didn't reply, didn't even look round. The Doctor approached him cautiously. "You can tell me, if something's bothering you. What are friends for, right?" he asked with a nervous grin.

Without turning round to face him, Jack replied in a flat voice, "Friends are there for you. Friends don't let you down. We are not…Doctor, if you were facing a man who had hurt you, who had cost you _everything _you held dear, and who could never make things right…what would you do?" he asked. Confused, the Doctor tried to answer but then Jack turned around, a hard look in his eyes, and continued, "You know what I would do? This!"

He punched the Doctor, or tried to, but the Doctor actually managed to duck and began to back away. "Jack, Jack, what...why?" was all he could ask as the immortal man advanced, fists clenching. "Hold still, I'll feel a lot better after I've pummelled the arrogance out of you" Jack snarled, and the Doctor dodged another punch. "But what did I do?" he yelped, trying to not let Romana in on the fact that he was being attacked. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her.

Much to his relief, Jack stopped trying to sock him in the jaw and just glared at him, grinding his teeth. The Doctor had never seen Jack so furious, and he stayed stock still lest he set off the other man's ire. "You really have no idea what happened. Just goes to show how much you care about your favourite planet" Jack sneered, "that you can't be bothered to show up when we need you".

The Doctor was starting to get the idea that Earth had been attacked, and he hadn't stopped it…but the planet and humanity were still here so Torchwood or UNIT or even Sarah Jane must have helped defend it… "Is this about the cubes?" he guessed, "those black cubes that were everywhere, I know, I did try to work them out but"-

"Shut up, this isn't about the damn cubes. Back in 1965, some freakish three headed bird aliens came and demanded we give them twelve children in exchange for a cure to a virus. I _helped_ the government do that. Then in 2009 they came back _again _and demanded even more. Do you know what they wanted the children for? Drugs. They wanted to hook the children up to themselves and use the chemicals they produced to _get high_" Jack explained, and the Doctor looked at him in horror.

The captain wasn't finished however. "Torchwoods base got blown up, Ianto died in my arms – I had to kill my own grandson to drive the 456 away for good, and now his mother won't even speak to me. Oh, but it didn't stop there. Two years later, a bunch of nut jobs put some of my blood into this thing called the Blessing and ended up making everyone immortal. There were food shortages, people suffering with wounds that should have killed them, the governments burned people alive just to destroy them enough to make some room!"

Jack panted, tense, looking angry; but also pleased that the Doctor seemed so horrified. "Jack…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, if I'd known I would have done something…why…why didn't you call me?" he asked, and Jack threw him such a look of loathing that he actually recoiled. "I did. Maybe not at first, but when I knew I was getting in over my head I tried to call you…and you never answered. No matter how many times I tried, you never came".

"I – I'm sorry, honestly Jack, I"-

"Save it. We both know there's nothing you can do, except maybe close your eyes" Jack snapped, pulling his arm back for another punch. The Doctor flinched, but didn't try to dodge, and Jack was just about to drive his fist into the Time Lord's face when a voice said "Don't".

Both men turned simultaneously to see Romana standing in the doorway. "Romana! How, err, how long have you been there?" the Doctor asked awkwardly, fumbling with his bowtie. "Long enough" she replied, walking over and hugging him tightly. The Doctor could feel Jack glaring at him but he ignored it and hugged Romana back, breathing in her sweet strawberry scented shampoo.

She pulled back, but didn't move too far away, and turned to face Jack. "I know you're hurt, but please don't hurt my husband. Its 2014 now, right? You've been holding this anger in for three years, and what good has it done?" she asked, but Jack didn't have an answer. "Like you said, there's nothing the Doctor can do. So what good will it do to punch him, or pummel him, or hurt him in any way? It won't change what's happened, Jack, and it won't make you feel any better" Romana said reasonably.

_You're incredible, love _the Doctor told her in awe. He didn't think she'd be so calm, what with being pregnant and everything. "You don't have to forgive him" she told Jack, "just don't hurt him". Then she took the Doctor's hand and began to lead him back into the small base. As they neared the door, Jack called out "Did you? I mean, did you guys forgive him for…for what he did to your planet?" he asked. Romana smiled and simply answered, "Yes".

Jack opened his mouth, closed it again, and nodded. He walked off a little ways to think, hearing the door close behind him.

/

"Is everything okay?" asked the Corsair when they came back in, and they both nodded. Romana sat on the couch, away from Flavia who had moved a chair over to the workbench away from her pregnant friend, to drink her coffee without the strong smell upsetting Romana. Even so her nose wrinkled a bit and she rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder, smelling the comforting scent of his clothes. The two of them closed their eyes and slipped into a gestalt…

When they opened their eyes, the rundown room had vanished, replaced with a cosy room and a roaring fireplace. "Thanks for convincing Jack not to kill me" the Doctor told Romana gratefully, and she shook her head. "I don't think he would've gone that far – but I wasn't about to let him hurt you" she said determinedly, "I want to protect you, more than ever. I can't lose you, Doctor" she told him, tears filling her eyes. Rain began to fall outside. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her, soothed her, and gradually the tears and the rain dried up.

"We should probably go back to the real world soon, eh?" he suggested. Romana just held him tighter and murmured, "Not yet". So he held her for what felt like forever, and yet no time at all, until at last she sat up and smiled at him. "I love you" she said quietly, and his hearts swelled. "I love you too".

They closed their eyes, and when they opened them again, the others were staring at them with amused smiles. "Welcome back" the Corsair smirked, "this is planet Earth, and it's daytime" he teased. "Oh, shut up" the Doctor shot back as he got to his feet and looked at Jack, feeling trepidation rise in him. "Captain" he nodded.

"Doctor...look, I've been thinking, and Romana's right. Me being angry at you, it isn't doing any good. I can't really blame you for not knowing, it's not like your omniscient or anything. What I'm saying is, I accept your apology. Will you accept mine?" Jack asked hesitantly. The Doctor waited a few moments, pretending to deliberate, when really there was no question. "Of course I do, c'mere" he laughed, pulling the other man into a hug, ignoring his 'wrongness'. The others smiled behind them. "Wait, he was angry at you?" asked the Corsair, "since when?"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

A/N: To make up for all the angst in the previous chapter, this one has more fluff It also has medical stuff which is slightly gross, so fair warning.

Pregnant Preparations

Romana, still half asleep, felt her back begin to itch and tried to scratch it. This proved more difficult than she anticipated, because the itch was right in that annoying spot that one couldn't quite reach from any angle, so she reached out and shoved the lump on the bed in front of her. The Doctor grunted, blearily raised his head and asked "Eh?"

"My back is itchy" Romana whined plaintively, "can't you scratch it for me?" She heard him shift closer, felt his arm run over her side and his fingers scratch her skin, massaging her muscles in the process. She sighed in contentment, and ran a hand over her stomach. In the three months since she'd learned of her pregnancy, Romana had put on weight and was now beginning to show a small baby bump. It was difficult to see unless she held her loose top down over it though.

The lights came on very slowly, and as she adjusted to them Romana saw the Doctor smiling lovingly at her, lowering his arm to drop his sonic onto the mattress. "Hello, gorgeous" he murmured, and she blushed, avoiding his gaze. "Stop it" she mumbled, "I'm not gorgeous. I'm fat and sluggish…and I keep needing the loo, and feeling sick no matter how much camomile tea I drink and I hate you for doing this to me" she moaned into her pillow, scowling when she heard the Doctor chuckle. "It's not funny!" she snapped crossly.

He pouted at her and kept massaging her back until she relented and smiled at him. "You are gorgeous" he insisted, "no matter what, you will always be gorgeous to me. Pregnancy suits you, you know. You're just glowing" he smiled, putting his other hand on her bump and rubbing it gently. She laced her fingers with his and closed her eyes, drifting off back to sleep…at least for another hour before her body decided she needed to get up.

With a reluctant groan, Romana dragged herself from the comfortable warmth of her bed and went to the toilet. When she returned, the Doctor was sitting up in bed, flicking through the pregnancy book she'd been using. "It says here, late in the third month of pregnancy is a good time to have a prenatal check-up" he told Romana as she climbed back into bed and cuddled next to him. "According to Ms Ternal, our little one's brain ought to be nearly full formed. Pretty soon they'll be talking to us telepathically!" he smiled enthusiastically.

"That won't be for another five months, Doctor, and even then, the baby will only project wisps of emotion. I can't say I'm not looking forward to it, though" she admitted with a smile, stroking her bump. The Doctor shifted and put an arm around her shoulders, letting her lean on his side. "Are you happy?" he asked her, and she huffed. "I'm tired, nauseous, achy and I keep getting nosebleeds at the most annoying times…but yeah. I don't think I've ever been happier" she replied, and even though her eyes were filled with tears, he knew she meant it. "Good" he smiled, kissing the tip of her nose.

Now that they were awake, it was more difficult to go back to sleep, so they gave up and went to the kitchen to get breakfast. To make things easier for Romana, the cupboards were well stocked with foods that were safe for her to eat during her pregnancy, and in a gesture of solidarity that had her crying with sheer gratefulness (and hormones), the others had sworn off wine, coffee etc. until she could drink them again, even though she hadn't been overly fond of them before getting pregnant.

A sweet smell of peppermint permeated the air from the evaporating dish of oil in the room, doing wonders to calm Romana's flip flopping stomach. She found that she preferred dry, crunchy foods, like toast or very crispy bacon or apples, that didn't make her feel as sick as milk drenched cornflakes or yoghurt or worse yet, custard. Even the smell of the stuff made her want to throw up, but when the Doctor promised not to eat it around her, she'd burst into tears feeling guilty about keeping him from his favourite snack.

The only soft food she didn't mind eating was chocolate ice cream, and this morning she went straight to the freezer, pulled out a tub and began eating right from the container. "Can I have some?" the Doctor made the mistake of asking; Romana shot him a fierce glare and snapped "No! I'm eating for two, thanks to you, so go away"; then she returned to her breakfast. The Doctor sighed, smiled and made himself some jam on toast.

Five minutes later, the Corsair hurried in. "Hey, Jenny's on the phone, she wants to know how you are Romana" he said, and she frowned, grumbling "Fine, eating". All she wanted was to gorge on chocolate ice cream in peace, was that too much to ask? The Corsair left as swiftly as he had come. After refuelling the TARDIS, the Time Lords had locked the time machine between two destinations; a cloud above the smog of Victorian London, and the Hospital of the Infinite Schism.

The Doctor had chosen Victorian London because it was a quiet century, overall, for alien invasions. He had faith that Vastra, Jenny and Strax could handle a lot of the threats to the city, and gave them strict instructions not to pull him away from his wife unless the entire planet was in danger and they absolutely needed him. They hadn't called about any alien activity the whole time, but Jenny kept asking after Romana and giving advice, which was obviously well meant but sometimes just a little overbearing. Still, it was better than Strax offering to take care of Romana.

The Corsair came back, and they were soon joined by Flavia. Romana had almost eaten her way to the bottom of the ice cream tub and didn't look like she was stopping anytime soon. "Romana and I decided that we'd go for a check-up today" the Doctor remarked. Flavia looked up from her cereal and said "I can't believe it's been three months already".

Romana scowled into her ice cream. "I can" she grumbled, getting off her seat and glaring at the ice cream as if it were responsible for all her woes. "I'll be right back" she muttered, walking out the room. The Corsair swallowed a mouthful of toast and asked "What's so special about three months?"

"The baby will be almost fully formed by now – it will look like a baby, in other words, albeit very small. The nurse will do an ultrasound and show the baby inside Romana's womb. Honestly, you'd know all this if you read those books I told you about"

"But I'm not pregnant"

"No, really? Corsair, they're not for your sake. Some of those books have information about taking care of newborns, and we're all going to have to help out and give poor Romana a rest when the little one arrives"

"Oh, that's seven months away. I've got plenty of time"

"Time which may be slipping away faster than you think"

"Look, I'll read the books, but not if you keep harrying me about them!"

"I'm only trying to"-

"Oh for goodness sake!" the Doctor snapped, "would you two give it a rest? When the baby is here, the last thing Romana will want or need is a couple of bickering _toddlers_ to deal with as well" he told them, and they both looked down, chastened. "I'm sorry, Doctor" Flavia apologised contritely. "Yeah, sorry" the Corsair added.

"It's alright; I'm sorry I called you toddlers" the Doctor replied, just as Romana returned. "Are you okay?" he asked her, and she nodded. "Good. How about we go for a walk and then head to the hospital for your check up?" suggested the Doctor. Romana smiled and replied "Okay, just let me put this away". She placed the ice cream, what little left there was, back in the freezer and then they parted to get dressed.

"It's alright for you" Romana told the Doctor as he helped her into her clothes, "a suit's a suit, but Flavia and I have to wear all these stupid layers" she grumbled as he buttoned up a petticoat. "Well, look on the bright side, it helps to keep people from noticing you're pregnant" the Doctor pointed out, trying to be helpful. Romana huffed. "I guess" she admitted sullenly. The Doctor stroked her cheek with his thumb and smiled at her. "Hey. I love you" he murmured. Though she tried to resist, for at least ten seconds, she soon caved in and let him pull her into a kiss.

/

They had parked the TARDIS onto a cloud created by the time machine itself, with super-dense water vapour that could support at least ten people. The Doctor's reasoning was that it kept them above all the smoke and smog from factories that might harm the baby. This was fair enough, except that the TARDIS was parked above a residential area far from any factories, so really they just stayed up on the cloud because how often did one get the chance to stand on a cloud?!

Flavia had been concerned about one of them falling off the cloud, especially Romana. The cloud was quite wide though, with a bank around it that you could only fall over if you leaned too far out; and besides, if Romana was ever out on the cloud the Doctor would be hovering nearby. He'd spent the last three months practically glued to her side, doing everything she asked at a moment's notice and looking quite happy about it.

True to the British climate, the day was cloudy and cool. Romana found another reason to be glad of her layers of clothes, annoying though they may be to put on. It kept her from getting a chill, especially since the Doctor couldn't really put his arm around her down here. It wouldn't be prudent for them to show overt affection in Victorian times; though to be fair, a lot of the times she was too moody to show affection even in the privacy of the TARDIS.

The Corsair never went with the others on their walks – he came down in the invisible lift, but then wandered off to amuse himself for half an hour or so. None of them knew what he actually did, though they all had their suspicions. Flavia believed he was out drinking, and using mints to hide the scent of alcohol on his breath. The Doctor thought he was exploring the town, or looking for trouble to get into. Romana decided she didn't particularly care, so long as he didn't drag them into anything.

It was nice, the walk. The movement seemed to calm rather than distress her stomach, and seeing life go by made her feel quite relaxed. Romana had a feeling it would be quite a different story when she grew round enough for people to notice. When that happened she might just stick to walking around the corridors of the TARDIS.

They encountered Jenny and Vastra a few dozen streets from the park where they had started. "Romana! How are you? Are you feeling alright?" Jenny fussed, hugging Romana lightly as if she were made of china or fragile glass. "Yes, Jenny, I'm fine, just like yesterday, and the day before that" Romana answered, giving the young woman a pointed look. Jenny had the decency to look abashed. "Sorry, ma'am" she said apologetically, "I'm just worried is all. Having a baby's not easy for a woman, and poor souls can die" she sighed.

"Might I remind you, my dear" Vastra interjected with a hint of fond amusement, "that we are talking about a species that can cheat death itself; and I'm sure they have access to better medical technologies than exist in this primitive time…no offence" she added, but Jenny was unbothered. "None taken…and you're quite right. I suppose I didn't really think about it like that" she admitted.

"I do appreciate your concern" Romana assured her, sounding more like herself than she had in several weeks, "but everything is really fine, apart from all the usual annoyances. In fact, we're going to go to the hospital for a check-up later today" she revealed. With that, the conversation shifted to the Paternoster Gang's latest escapades – two criminals caught just yesterday, both for stealing; Jenny, who had once been in the same position as the two they'd apprehended, persuaded the police to go easy, since they were really little more than teenagers.

When they returned to the TARDIS, the Corsair was nowhere to be seen, but that was nothing unusual. Romana ate some crackers and cheese, partly to keep up her strength and partly to ease her nervousness. Even though there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, or with the baby, there was still a lingering fear even now that something would go wrong. According to her 'Guide to Motherhood' book, it was normal for mothers to have insecurities, especially first time mums.

The Corsair returned an hour or so later, soaking wet from head to toe. "Hey, don't drip all over the console! What on Earth happened to you?" asked the Doctor, as they all stared at the sodden Time Lord. The Corsair rolled his eyes, took a deep breath and began to explain. "I was just wandering around, when I saw a young woman get attacked by some drunk. So being the valiant hero that I am, I punched him in the face. Then a friend of his punched me in the face, so I punched him in the gut, and then the three of us got into a fight.

"The girl ran and fetched a policeman, and there just happened to be one nearby, so the two goons I was fighting ran off but not before one of them shoved me into a pile of manure. Did I mention we were outside a stable? Anyway, I stank; you don't even want to know how badly. I figured Romana wouldn't appreciate me coming in here reeking of horse dung so to clean off I jumped in the Thames. It got the policeman off my back as well, since he thought I'd drowned when I didn't come up for about ten minutes. So that's what happened" he finished.

The others all stared at him. None of them really knew what to say. Romana cleared her throat. "You actually still smell" she pointed out.

/

When they arrived at the hospital, they were greeted by friendly nurses, the same nurses who had helped to treat River Song. They were all sworn to secrecy about Romana's child, as were the doctors, midwives and everyone in the small ward that had been set aside for the Time Lords. "Hello!" one nurse said brightly, "are you here for your first check up?" she asked, and Romana nodded. "Right then, follow me please".

Romana was taken to an examination room. "I'm sorry, but only your husband is allowed to come in with you" the nurse, Sister Leigh, explained. So Flavia and the Corsair waited outside, whilst the Doctor and Romana (who was glad of his company) went in with the nurse and met Dr Lambert. He set up a non-invasive scan to search Romana for any potential problems. Whilst the scan was running, he asked her a slew of questions.

"I need to know as much as I can about your medical history, Mrs Romana, but I assure you all the details will be kept completely confidential and protected. Now, do you remember the last time your menstrual cycle occurred before you realised you were pregnant?" he asked. Romana blushed, but managed to answer, "With all the travelling we do - used to do - it can be hard to keep track of things like that. Besides, my cycle isn't as regular as, say, a human's. It only happens once a month every five years or so".

Both Dr Lambert and Sister Leigh looked confused, so the Doctor stepped in to explain. "We're Time Lords, remember, we have far greater lifespans than most species. If we were, um…sexually active as often as other species, imagine how many kids we'd end up having? So yes, five years is perfectly normal. In fact that's not how we discovered she was pregnant. Romana had been vomiting, and when I scanned her to find out what the problem was, well…" he trailed off with a shrug.

Dr Lambert nodded and made some notes. "Fascinating" he murmured, before turning to Romana again. "Where were we? Ah yes, have you noticed any issues lately, related or not to your pregnancy?"

And so it went, with tests and questions and more tests. In the end, Dr Lambert announced "Well, it appears that you and the baby are both in perfect health. Keep eating at the rate you are, don't over or under do it; be sure to do kegel exercises to strengthen your pelvic muscles, and come back to us if there are any complications. I'll give your husband some further information, but in the meantime, would you like to see your baby?"

"Oh, yes please!"

Sister Leigh asked her to lie back on the bed and pull up her shirt. "This is going to be cold" she warned, smearing some blue gel over Romana's bare tummy. Then she ran an ultrasound scanner over the skin, and on a small screen, they watched as black and white blobs shaped themselves into the small, but unmistakable form of a foetus curled up in her womb. A faint 'lub-dub-dub-dub' could be heard, and Romana felt tears running down her cheeks at the sight.

The nurse made another scan, this one to determine the gender of the baby. "Won't it be too early?" Romana wondered, and Sister Leigh smiled. "We're very clever" she replied simply, checking and then double checking the results of the scan. She looked at the parents with a bright smile and informed them, "Congratulations. You're having a baby girl".

/

A/N: I already have a name picked out so don't worry about making suggestions.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Pregnant Preparations

"I want to go shopping" Romana announced with an air of finality. The Doctor blinked. "Okay…shopping for what?" he asked blankly. Romana gestured to her sunshine yellow top and explained "See this? It's supposed to be a dress, Theta. I'm wearing a sundress a size too big for me normally, and it barely covers me, I'm getting absolutely huge!" she groaned.

The Corsair looked up from the magazine he was reading. "Maybe you need one that's two sizes too big" he suggested, and she glowered at him. "Thanks for that. Doctor, I need some maternity clothes; and don't say 'just look in the wardrobe' because you know it's impossible to find anything in there" Romana insisted, folding her arms above her protruding stomach. She was now nearly five months along, and it was quite obvious she was pregnant.

Powerless against his wife's pleas, the Doctor cancelled the materialisation lock on the TARDIS and the Time Quartet (minus Romana, who was having difficulty reaching some controls) flew the time machine to a supermarket on a human colony world. Or at least they tried to, but the TARDIS decided to land in the supply cupboard of a department store on Earth. When she emerged from the TARDIS and the cupboard, Romana saw quite a few people milling about, looking at clothes and paying the four of them no mind, and froze.

"Ro, what's wrong?" the Doctor asked anxiously, putting a supporting hand on the small of her back. Romana whimpered, staring at all the shoppers. "People" she managed to say. The Doctor's brow creased in puzzlement. "Um, yeah, there are people here…surely you realised there'd be…?"

"I forgot" she mumbled, embarrassed, "I've changed my mind, Doctor, I don't want to do this anymore"; she tried to escape back to the TARDIS, only for them to usher her further into the store. "Come on, you can't put this off. Everything will be fine" Flavia assured her, putting an arm around Romana's shoulders, "let's go find the maternity section, you and me".

Upon further investigation, the maternity clothes proved to be on the other side of the store. It felt like an eternity to Romana, crossing that space, with everyone staring at her. Near the maternity racks, several women who were also pregnant were looking through the clothes, and Romana felt just a little bit less conspicuous. She began to pick through the baggy clothing, not sure what to pick.

Out of the corner of her eye, Romana saw a glimpse of red hair, and without thinking, looked over and asked "Amy?" The woman turned, and Romana winced as she realised her mistake; it wasn't Amy, but a woman in her early thirties by the look of it. "Sorry, were you talking to me?" the woman questioned. Romana shook her head hurriedly. "Sorry, um, I thought you were someone I knew…so, err, you're shopping for maternity clothes too?" she asked, feeling extremely foolish.

The woman let out an exaggerated sigh and replied "Yeah, I finally admitted defeat. But really, some of this stuff is just daft; I mean, look at this!" She held up a t-shirt with the legend 'Bun in the Oven' on the front. "Sorry, my head's all over the place lately. I'm Donna, Donna Noble" the woman introduced herself with a smile. Romana tried not to gasp in surprise. She remembered, the Doctor had told her about Donna Noble, the woman who had had to forget him, the most important woman in the universe.

"It's nice to meet you, Donna. I'm Romana Smith, and…that woman over there with the ponytail is my friend Flavia Wilson" Romana made the introductions, and Donna smiled politely before asking "Romana and Flavia? Are they French names or something?"

"Um, yes…so, when is yours due?" asked Romana, nodding at Donna's baby bump. Donna patted her stomach and remarked, "Late September of next year; I'm having twin boys. You?"

"Just one girl, due in early October" Romana answered. The two of them began to chat, lamenting together about the woes of pregnancy; all the while, Romana was very careful not to trigger Donna's memories.

/

Over in the toys section, the Doctor and the Corsair were picking out baby toys with great care. That is to say, they were sonicking each toy just to make sure it _was _a toy, and not some kind of alien device (the Corsair), playing with the toys a bit to 'make sure they worked properly' (the Doctor) and getting very odd looks from the other shoppers.

The Doctor felt a tap on his shoulder and looked round to see – Wilfred Mott! "Excuse me, young fella, but would you mind passing me one of them ball popper thingies?" asked Wilf, pointing at a box on the highest shelf. The Doctor stood on tiptoes and eased the box into his arms, before passing it to Wilf. "Heh, thanks very much. It's for my grand-daughter, you see, she's expecting twins" he explained with a chuckle, and the Doctor grinned inwardly. Donna was having babies too!

Just then the Corsair came over and asked "Hey Doctor, who's this?" The Doctor resisted the urge to face-palm, as Wilf's eyes widened in realisation, staring at him. "Oh my God…it's you! It's really you...still alive then, eh?" he grinned, and the Doctor sighed. "Hello, Wilf. This is the Corsair, a co-pilot of mine; Corsair, this is Wilfred Mott, Donna Noble's grandfather. You do remember Donna, right?" he checked, and the Corsair nodded.

Wilf looked puzzled. "Co-pilot?" he repeated. The Doctor gestured to the Corsair with his thumb, and tapped his hearts. Wilf looked between them a few times and then said "Oh, oh! But I thought you said there were none left?" he asked in a low voice. "There weren't, but now there are five of us" the Doctor grinned. "Except the fifth one is still inside his wife" the Corsair added. Wilf looked at the Doctor, amazed. "You're married?"

"To the most beautiful woman in the universe…she's looking for maternity clothes. Would you like to meet her?" asked the Doctor, and Wilf nodded. "Donna should be over there too…Doctor, if you look different now, does that mean you could…start over with Donna? Be her friend again, I know you'd love that, and so would"- the Doctor held up his hands to stop Wilf before he could continue. "I can't" he said emphatically, "I'm sorry Wilf, but I can't do that. I can't dredge up the past again, not when I need to focus on my future, on my family's future".

Wilf sighed and nodded in understanding. The three of them made their way towards the maternity section, and as they walked the Time Lords conversed telepathically. _It's a shame about Donna _the Corsair said sympathetically, _but there's one thing I never quite got_

_What's that?_

_If she had your mind in her brain, then why didn't you just erase some of those memories?_

_Because all of them needed to go and I'd have needed another…Time Lord's…help…_

_Err, Doctor?_

_Corsair…you are a genius and I could kiss you! "_Wilf, hang on!" the Doctor called out aloud, "About Donna; the Corsair's just had a great idea…"

/

They found Romana, Flavia and Donna chatting a little ways away from the clothes racks. Whilst Wilf introduced Donna to 'John Smith and Cory Wilson', the Time Lords relayed the plan to the Time Ladies, who were on board at once. "Hey, Donna, John here told me he has a mind reading trick, d'you mind if he tries it on you?" the Corsair asked. Donna frowned suspiciously, and sceptically. "Alright…" she said slowly, "what do I have to do?"

The Doctor stepped in front of her. "Just take a deep breath, relax, and clear your mind. Now, close your eyes and picture a door, a door into your thoughts. Picture me stepping through that door" he instructed, pressing his fingers to her temples. He heard Donna gasp slightly as he entered her mind and told her, "It's okay, it's all part of the trick. Just relax. If there are any thoughts you don't want to think about, picture them behind a door and close it".

One by one, the others joined the mind meld and helped the Doctor sort through Donna's subconscious, removing the memories and knowledge that were really his own, and releasing her suppressed memories of him. When they were finished, and came out of her head, the Doctor lowered his arms and opened his eyes to find Donna staring at him open mouthed.

Slowly her expression changed from shocked, to cross… "I predict that you're going to slap me?" he guessed, and she glared at him. "You got that right!" One sharp slap later, and she was giving him an earful. "How could you, you skinny little streak of spaceman! You made me someone important and then you just ripped it all away, do you have any idea how that feels?" she half asked, half sobbed. He figured it was the hormones.

"I'm sorry, Donna. Honestly, I am so sorry, if there's any way I can make it up to you…" he offered, pouting apologetically. Donna eyed him, and then sighed. "Oh, alright, you big softie, I'll forgive you" she admitted, giving him a rather awkward hug. "I can't believe you're married; didn't the old you keep saying he'd 'never do domestic?" she asked teasingly.

"Exactly, that was the old me, and the new me is…oh! I just had a fantastic idea. Why don't we have a reunion?" he asked Romana, "we could tell all our friends about us, and the baby, and they could get presents and we could pick them up and have a big shower together!" he suggested with a hopeful grin, and the Corsair snorted. "Steady on there, Doctor" he quipped, and the other Time Lord rolled his eyes. "I meant a _baby shower_".

"I think that's a great idea" Romana smiled, and the others all agreed. They parted ways, the Time Lords promising to pick Wilf and Donna up from their houses at the end of the week. Romana bought the maternity clothes she'd managed to pick out, the Doctor and the Corsair bought the toys they liked the most, and they all returned to the TARDIS. They had a lot of stops to make.

/

They held the baby shower at Madame Vastra's house, so that the crime fighting trio who had done so much to help the Time Lords could join in as well. Strax had been instructed to be on his best behaviour, food and wine (blackcurrant juice for Romana) had been set out, and a large pile of presents from the twenty one guests had been amassed.

When the Doctor had first suggested having a party, Romana had liked the idea…but now, surrounded by people, she suddenly became very self-conscious. She was sitting in an armchair, the Doctor perched on the armrest with an arm around her shoulders; when their friends came in and began congratulating her profusely, she shrank down as much as she could and covered her face with her hands. The awkward tension was quickly diffused by Jack, who said bluntly, "We can still see you, you know".

Everyone chuckled, even Romana, and she smiled at them all shyly, getting to her feet with the help of the Doctor. "Hello…thank-you for coming, all of you, it…it really means a lot" Romana told them honestly. Sarah Jane smiled and came to hug her, saying "Of course we came, we wouldn't miss this for the world".

A blonde woman whom Romana didn't recognise nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's not every day that a Time Lord is going to be born! My name's Jo Jones, dear, and this handsome boy is my grandson Santiago" she introduced herself and the dark haired youth beside her, who squirmed in embarrassment. "It's lovely to meet both of you" Romana smiled politely; she was just about to ask if Jo was a former companion when a five year old blonde boy hurried up to them.

"Alfie, don't bother Romana" his mother Sophie scolded. Romana shook her head and reassured her, "I really don't mind. Hello, Alfie Owens. I suppose you won't remember me, will you? You were just a baby when we last met" she smiled at the little boy. Alfie stared at her baby bump curiously and pointed at it, asking "Is a baby in there?"

"There is; a little baby girl"

"How did she get in there? How's she gonna get out?"

"Heh, um…that's a secret, shh"

"Oh…is your tummy gonna pop like a balloon?"

"Alfie!" Craig exclaimed, mortified, "you don't ask stuff like that, it's rude" he reprimanded. The Corsair, who was busy filming the whole thing, grinned and said "No, let him keep going, this is comedy gold!" But Alfie was distracted and wandered off, forgetting his question entirely.

After they had eaten and mingled for a while, the little boy returned to Romana's side clutching a slightly crumpled piece of paper. "Mrs Romana?" he began, tugging on her sleeve, "I made you a picture". He handed her a crayon drawing of a baby girl – a round pink circle for the head, scribbles of yellow for the hair, a red curved line for a smile and two blue dots for the eyes. It was one of the sweetest things Romana had ever seen. "Oh, thank-you so much, that's very kind of you" she smiled gratefully, giving Alfie a hug.

"Are we giving presents now?" asked Donna; and they decided unanimously that yes, they were. "We have a present for you, love" the Doctor smiled at Romana, gesturing to himself and the other members of the Time Quartet, "but it isn't quite finished yet" he explained. Romana smiled in understanding and replied "That's okay, I'm sure I love it when it is ready". The two of them kissed, rather passionately, ignoring the coos and wolf-whistles and one juvenile squeal of disgust.

River was the first to give Romana her gift; a beautifully soft, midnight blue baby blanket, decorated with silvery stars; River asked the Corsair to dim the lights, and the stars on the blanket began to glow. "Oh, River, this is wonderful, thank you so much" Romana beamed, rubbing the material between her fingers. Then Melody gave her a smaller present, neatly wrapped in white paper; Romana gasped in surprise when she found inside, a Gamma Forest prayer leaf embroidered with the word 'Joy' in Gallifreyan.

"I asked Lorna to make it; the Corsair taught me to write that word when I was a kid, so I told Lorna how to do it; she was more than happy to. We didn't know what the name would be, but I know she'll bring you joy, so that's what we used" explained Melody. "Thank you, Melody. Really, this means so much, I can't even say" Romana smiled, tracing the Gallifreyan. Donna asked curiously, "What are you going to call your little girl?"

Romana glanced at the Doctor and replied "We do have some ideas, but…I want to wait until she's born to choose the one that feels right"; Donna nodded and handed over her present. It proved to be a light pink onesie, embroidered on the front with big TARDIS blue letters 'TIME TOT'. Romana, who had been nearly on the verge of tears, burst out laughing. "I hope that's an 'I like it' laugh" said Donna.

"It is, it is…thank you, Donna. This is absolutely adorable" the Time Lady beamed. More and more presents were given; a rocking chair assembly set from Wilf, a baby play mat and carrier from Mickey and Martha, a papoose and TARDIS blue pillow from Craig and Sophie, plush animals from Anthony, baby books from Sarah Jane, a lucky charm bracelet for the baby from Rani, a woolly blue and white bobble hat from Clyde, a photo album from Luke and Sky, an agate necklace from Vastra (for luck and protection), a locket from Jenny and a hand-made doll (it was the thought that counted) from Strax.

Jo gave her a bottle of something that smelled absolutely heavenly. "It's a special massage oil made from extracts of plants found in the depths of the Amazon…trust me, it works wonders" Jo explained with a smile. Santiago handed over his present rather sheepishly, saying "I carved it myself…it was going to be for a baby in the village we were living in, but…the poor thing didn't make it" he said sadly. Romana gave the rattle, painted with jungle scenes, an experimental shake. "It's beautiful, I love it" she told the teen, who smiled.

Brian's gift was by far the most flamboyant – a huge bouquet of delightful flowers, each of which held significance. "Okay, so, the daisies represent innocence and hope, the violet is for devotion, the white heather signifies protection, the lilac symbolises joy and youth, and the honeysuckle means 'bonds of love'…they all represent you and the Doctor and the baby, as a family, basically" Brian explained helpfully. Romana smiled widely. "Oh, they're beautiful, Brian, thank you. All of you, thank you so much, this is…this is just incredible".

A few hours later, the guests were returned home a mere five minutes before they left Earth, and Romana went to have a lie down. As she was walking out of the console room however, she paused and gasped. "What is it? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" the Doctor asked frantically; Romana shook her head and took hold of his hand, placing it on her stomach. A moment later he felt something… "Did…did the baby just kick?" he asked, eyes going wide. Romana nodded and smiled through newly forming tears, feeling the baby kick again, and they both beamed at one another in delight.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Pregnant Preparations

"That's it, bit further…bit further…are you peeking?" asked the Doctor, and Romana sighed in exasperation. "How can I peek, you've got your hands over my eyes" she pointed out, and felt his embarrassment at being caught out like that. "Yes, well…anyway, keep going, keep going, and…stop! Ready?" he inquired. It was a fortnight since the reunion and baby shower they'd held, and the Doctor was finally showing her the mysterious unfinished present that he, the Corsair and Flavia had been working on.

Romana bit her lip and nodded. The Doctor took his hands from over her eyes, moved around her, and opened a door in front of her. "Okay…open your eyes" he murmured. Slowly, she opened them to find a beautiful faux mahogany door, standing ajar before her. Reaching out, she pushed it open and a soft light switched on in the room beyond. Impelled by her husband's encouraging smile, and the sparkle in his eyes, Romana ventured forward into the room…and what she saw took her breath away.

The wall was rounded, no corners at all, and painted in minute detail was a beautiful mural, depicting crimson grass, silver trees, a burnt orange sky stretching over the ceiling. Looking closer, she realised it was a hologram…clouds drifted across the ceiling, on the far wall the first of twin suns was sinking, the grass waved softly in a non-existent wind. The soft carpet beneath her feet was crimson as well, completing the illusion of standing in a Gallifreyan glade.

"Oh, Theta, this…this is amazing" she breathed, looking at the walls and ceiling in awe. The Doctor put an arm around her shoulders and grinned. "It gets better; look at this" he said, leading her over to the wall beside the door. Embedded in the wall was a tablet, like an iPad, only this one showed a stylised sun and moon; at the Doctor's prompting, Romana tapped on the sun. The moon disappeared, and the sun moved along an arc to near the bottom right corner of the room.

Curious, Romana dragged the sun with her finger, down to the end of the arcing line. As the sun moved, the light in the room dimmed from the glow of sunset to the gloom of twilight, and finally went out altogether. The screen returned to its original setting, so she tapped the moon instead, and pushed it along the arc to the pinnacle. A gentle blue light filled the room, not as bright as the 'sunlight', but still enough for her to see clearly. "It's a night light!" the Doctor cheered, and she laughed.

"Look up" he whispered. Romana turned her eyes to the ceiling and gasped…it was covered in stars, and not just any stars, but the stars as they were seen from Gallifrey. She could even recognise the constellations…in the centre glowed the holographic moon. Experimentally, she moved it on the screen and yes, it moved on the ceiling as well. "Tap the moon twice" the Doctor instructed, so she did so. The sun and moon returned; Romana tapped on the sun and moved it back to its original position, bathing the room once again in a soft orange glow.

It was incredible. "Best light switch ever" she joked, and the Doctor beamed widely. "It was my idea" said the Corsair, from where he'd arrived in the doorway, "and I thought you were going to wait?" This last comment was directed at the Doctor, who was doing his best to look like he had no idea what the other man was talking about. Romana smiled gratefully at the Corsair. "I think it's brilliant, all of it…and I haven't even looked at all this stuff properly" she admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

The room's furniture blended almost seamlessly with the hologram of the wall. An image of two wide trees, leaves gently swaying, on the left of the door was a backdrop for a silver painted set of drawers. On further investigation, they proved to be full of nappies, wet wipe packets and baby clothes. A changing mat, talcum powder and baby oil were arranged neatly on the top of the drawers, just at waist height. "You can thank Flavia here for how tidy everything looks" the Corsair explained, and Romana thanked her, touched.

Still there was more. Moving around clockwise from the door, Romana came to a bookcase, with lots of hard-backed baby books packed onto the two little shelves. She was surprised they'd found enough books, but then she recognised some of the books as those from planets other than Earth – there was even a copy of Gallifreyan fairy tales, dug out from some distant corner of the TARDIS no doubt.

Close beside the bookcase was a table with Brian's lovely bouquet sitting in a vase, and beside it, Wilf's rocking chair. Romana imagined sitting in that comfortable chair, cradling her daughter, and her hearts swelled with love. On the other side of the rocking chair was the baby's cot. The silvery wood was lined on all sides with soft, TARDIS blue velvet; inside lay Sophie's pillow, Anthony's stuffed animals (with Barry the Bear tucked between the arms of a rabbit) and River's baby blanket. Hanging from a little hook overhead was the prayer leaf from Melody and Lorna.

Romana could barely speak, it was all so incredible. "Wait till you see the playroom" the Doctor grinned, and she nearly gaped at him. "There's more?!" she asked incredulously. He nodded eagerly and guided her over to a door she hadn't noticed earlier, opened it, and ushered her inside. Whereas the first room was clearly made to relax, to sooth, this room was designed to delight.

The carpet was still red, but a lighter, brighter shade, and the walls faded from red to pink as you went up to the ceiling. The pink was mostly hidden behind brightly coloured shapes and cartoonish animals. The large, multicoloured jigsaw like play-mat from Mickey held pride of place in the centre of the room. Around it were placed all the toys the Corsair and the Doctor had bought, and off to the side sat a chest filled with smaller toys. The baby carrier and papoose were in here as well, along with Santiago's rattle.

She beamed through tears of joy. "Oh my, this is wonderful Doctor, all of you, thank you so…is that a phone ringing?" Romana asked, puzzled. They all listened carefully and sure enough, a _brill, brill, brill _sound emanated through the two open doors, faint but still clear. They went to the console room, Romana a bit more slowly than the rest, and the Corsair picked up the phone. "Hello? Oh, hi Donna…Uh huh…uh huh…hang on, I'll check".

He placed the receiver against his shoulder and explained, "Donna let slip to her mum about us, and then her husband found out, and now they want to meet us. So…what should I tell her?" he asked the Doctor. Before the Doctor could decide, Romana said firmly "Tell her we'll be there very soon". They all turned to look at her. "Are you sure?" the Corsair inquired.

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, my daughter wants to go somewhere, she's fidgeting a lot" Romana smiled fondly, putting a hand on her stomach and feeling the baby kick at it. "She's my daughter too" the Doctor pointed out, "but I suppose we can't argue with her, can we? Alright, we'll go visit them. Though honestly, I warned them all not to tell and then what does she go and do? She tells her mum. Her mum, for crying out loud" he muttered to himself as he moved to the controls.

The Corsair pressed the phone to his ear again. "Donna? Sorry about that; we'll be there very soon, see ya!" He hung up and began to actually help pilot. Romana stood out of the way; with her extended stomach she couldn't reach the controls properly and she really just had to keep her balance and hold on tight. Fortunately the Doctor remembered to switch on the stabilisers, or 'blue boring-ers' as he was fond of calling them.

When they landed, the Doctor actually took the time to double check they were in the right place, and that no-one was around. _Who'd have thought it would take Romana getting pregnant for him to be more cautious…thank the Other for small miracles, I suppose_ Flavia thought to herself. Once the Doctor was satisfied that no danger was present, he very carefully guided Romana out of the TARDIS and up to a large, rather fancy but still homely looking house.

His enthusiastic door rapping was interrupted by a black man, who looked rather perturbed to find a man in a bow tie and an expectant woman standing on his doorstep. "Hello! You must be Shaun Temple, though it's Temple-Noble now isn't it? Better than Noble-Temple, that sounds like a tourist trap, is Donna home?" the Doctor greeted in a rush, making Romana shake her head in disbelief._ You're ridiculous _she told him, and he beamed at her.

Shaun stared over their shoulders at the Corsair, Flavia, and on the other side of the street, the TARDIS. "It's…you're…it's you! The four, the…alien, people, things…but Donna called you a week ago!" he babbled, eyes all but starting from his head. Romana raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, who shrugged and said "It's better than a month. Can we come in?" he asked Shaun politely. The poor man just gaped at them helplessly.

Before Romana could try to reassure or comfort him, Donna's strident tones rang out from down the hall. "Shaun! Whoever it is, either let them in or tell them to clear off! We're watching X Factor!" she yelled. Shaun visibly gulped, stood aside and gestured for them to come in. Romana patted his arm sympathetically as she went past.

They found Donna, Wilf and Sylvia in a spacious living room. The furniture was clearly high quality, and the large flat screen TV had clearly cost a lot of money, but it was all designed in such a way that it looked no different from a typical suburban home. "You made it then, eh?" Wilf chuckled, pleased to see them. Shaun hurried forward to help Donna up out of her chair, and she all but waddled over to bestow a hug on Romana. Of course neither of them could actually reach, so they settled for squeezing each other's hands instead.

"It's about time! You're lucky it's Saturday, we always meet up once a week; I want my boys to grow up in a close family" she remarked, fondly patting her belly. The Doctor's hearts cringed a little at the unintentional reminder of Amy…he soon brushed it off and smiled. "It's nice to see you again too, and you Wilf. Hi Sylvia" he sighed, coming face to face with the fifth thing he dreaded after losing Romana, losing the baby, the Daleks and people shooting his hats – cross mothers.

However, Sylvia didn't appear to be cross with him, just resigned. "Hello, Doctor. You've changed" she noted, "I suppose Donna was telling the truth after all". Donna grinned triumphantly. "Told you so" she smirked, before introducing the Time Quartet to her husband. "Shaun, this is the Doctor, I used to travel through time with a different version of him. This is his wife, Romana, she's having a girl; and these are their friends the Corsair and Flavia" she explained.

In almost a daze, Shaun shook their hands and said hello…then he turned to Donna and said blankly, "There aren't enough seats". It was true; the room only contained three armchairs and one couch, which meant that two people would have to remain standing…at least they would have if Donna hadn't rolled her eyes and chided "Then go fetch a couple chairs from the kitchen, you Dumbo! Go on!" She shooed him off and returned to sitting in one of the armchairs, her feet on the footrest, regal as a Queen.

Once they were all seated, Donna smiled in a rather forced way around at everyone and said "Well, this is nice, isn't it? It's been so long since I've seen you guys" she smiled more genuinely at the Time Quartet, especially Romana. "We can tell" Romana agreed, nodding to Donna's bump, which was noticeably larger than her own. "How long has it been for you since the reunion?" she asked, and Donna revealed that it had been two months, and now she was almost seven months along. "So I only have two more months of torment left before I get to hold my children" she sighed dramatically.

"They're my children too" Shaun muttered, unknowingly copying the Doctor, before he looked at his wife with an almost pleading expression and said "I don't understand. What do you mean, you travelled with a different version of him?" he asked, pointing at the Doctor, "What are they? What do they do? You said you travelled in time, how could you, it's impossible!" he insisted, voice rising slightly towards the end of his rant. A pointed glare from Donna quickly made him reassess himself and take deep breaths to calm down.

With the help of the Time Lords, and a glass or two of wine for Shaun and her mother, Donna managed to explain everything. Once that was over, she decided to ask a few questions of her own. "Aren't you worried about something bad happening whilst you're not travelling?" she asked the Doctor, wondering how he could stand the thought of not going to anyone's aid.

The Doctor rubbed his daft chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I am worried sometimes" he admitted, "but not that much. The TARDIS can still pick up distress calls from even distant worlds, and we have friends to contact us if things go wrong…speaking of which, I ought to set up a way for you to talk to Donna and the others…maybe that FaceTime app? I don't want you to be lonely" the Doctor told Romana, and the Corsair gave a dismissive scoff. "How can she be lonely? You follow her around like a lost puppy" he pointed out, much to the Doctor's chagrin.

Romana laughed softly and shook her head. "I'm not lonely" she assured her husband, "after all, I have the best Doctor in the universe looking after me..." she pulled him in for a kiss, much to the embarrassment of everyone else. "Okay, I'm never against snogging in public but they've been like this for days, I think I preferred it when she was grouchy" the Corsair quipped, and the two lovebirds quickly pulled apart, blushing.

"Uh, right, anyway…it's not like I'm abandoning the universe to its fate, or something. I still care, but now I have to put my wife and child first. If you had a choice between saving your twins and saving a planet of total strangers, you'd choose your twins every time, wouldn't you? We Time Lords have just as strong paternal and maternal instincts as you humans – stronger, in a way, since our species doesn't reproduce nearly as much as you rabbits" the Doctor explained with a teasing smirk.

Wilf then asked "So, uh, how far along are you Romana?"

"About halfway through my sixth month, I think. So…three more days, two weeks, and four months before our baby arrives…give or take" Romana explained. Donna frowned slightly in puzzlement and asked "Don't you mean three months?"

Romana shook her head. "No, our pregnancies are ten months, not nine…after all, we've got more organs than humans, and larger brains…no offence" she added, but none of them minded. Shaun in particular was still a bit too stunned to comment on anything at all really. "We still have three trimesters though" Romana went on, figuring she might as well explain more about it, "except that the first one is four months long, as opposed to three months".

The Doctor stepped in to help elucidate. "Honestly, Time Lord infants don't develop much differently to human infants – They spend months one to four forming all the right parts, months five to seven enhancing their senses and skin thickness and a bunch of other stuff, and months eight to ten developing their mental and telepathic capabilities" he rattled off. An awkward silence ensued. "….What?"

"Nothing, I just didn't ever expect to hear you talk about pregnancy, at all" Donna admitted, and the Doctor pouted. He wished Ten hadn't been so insistent that he'd 'never do domestic' (though he couldn't really blame his past incarnation for thinking that); perhaps then his former companions wouldn't be so surprised he was married, and about to be a father again, and was really _trying _this time. Romana patted his arm sympathetically. She knew he was trying; she caught Donna's eye and they both smiled. They were both really very lucky, all things considered.

/

A/N: Sorry this chapter took a while, I couldn't find the spark.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Pregnant Preparations

There was nothing they could do – the Daleks came out of nowhere, exterminating everyone in their path. She was outside, she didn't remember leaving the TARDIS, but now she was outside Vastra's home, and Jenny was screaming, and people were running and shoving past her…she tried to stay on her feet, tried to get to shelter and protect her baby, but she couldn't, there were just too many people and she was swept away…she heard the Doctor calling out to her, she tried to call back but her voice was trapped in her throat.

She found herself face to face with a Dalek, and helplessly tried to shield her stomach and the precious life within…the Dalek screamed "Exterminate!" – there was a flash of blue white light, a yell of agony, and a thud…but she hadn't uttered that cry, and when she opened her eyes and found the Doctor lying dead at her feet, a strangled scream of horror was torn from her…

"Romana"; she heard his voice behind her and looked around in spite of herself, seeing him standing there alive and well. When she looked back at his dead body, it had disappeared, along with the Dalek. She was confused. "It's only a dream, love. It can't hurt you. Come on, that's it, time to wake up" the Doctor soothed, fading away along with everything else around her.

/

Romana blinked awake, to find the Doctor leaning over her with a relieved smile on his face. "Where am I?" she asked, disoriented. "In our bedroom, on our bed, in the TARDIS; and not a Dalek in sight" the Doctor reassured her, giving her a kiss. Romana sighed and wiped her teary orbs. "I thought they would start to stop by now" she moaned pitifully, sniffling. It was a little understood side effect of the baby developing telepathic abilities – she had been having the most dreadful nightmares.

The Doctor brushed a stray lock of hair from her face tenderly. "I know" he murmured, "but they will stop, when the baby is born" he reminded her, but Romana just groaned; she wanted them to stop _now._ "The baby won't be born for another two and a half months, Theta. Can't you just…speed things up? I'm sick of having nightmares every other night, and aching all over, and getting nosebleeds, and being tired all the time, and swollen, and ugly and fat…did I mention I'm ugly?"

"You're not ugly"

"You're just saying that. I'm a big, blobby, veiny, matted hair, ugly mess" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. The Doctor cuddled her and pulled her hands away, so he could look her in the eyes. "Hey. I know you'd like to skip all this, I think any woman would, but I promise you it'll be worth it…and you are doing_ brilliantly. _Now, how about we talk to the little one a bit?" he suggested. She sniffled and nodded, blowing her nose on a tissue he gave her. The Doctor rearranged some of the mound of pillows and cushions behind her, and Romana rested her head, closed her eyes, and reached out with her mind.

She could sense the Doctor's mind, half melded with hers, and endlessly supportive. Distantly, she could also perceive the minds of their co-pilots, and had a vague idea of where they were…she ignored all these minds however, and reached out to fold her essence around a tremulous flame, curious and innocent. _Hello, sweetheart. It's your mummy _she whispered a gentle thought, and her daughter projected feelings of happiness.

The nightmares were horrible, but this more than made up for them. Their baby's mind was becoming more advanced every day, and she was communicating with them on a very basic level…but it meant so much to feel her little mind show joy when they spoke to her…the first time Romana had tentatively projected her love to her daughter, and received a glimmer of love in return, she'd burst into tears.

_Your daddy's here as well. We can't wait to meet you, our precious little girl. You are going to be so, so loved _her husband added, and Romana chuckled softly, feeling the baby squirm like she wanted to come out now. _Be patient, sweetheart _she soothed. Patience, not a bounteous commodity nowadays, but she could make it. Well, it wasn't like she had much of a choice.

Their daughter grew sleepy, and the bright flame of her telepathy dimmed to a mere glow. Romana let out a jaw cracking yawn in solidarity; she was absolutely exhausted. "Go to sleep, dear" the Doctor whispered to her, "I'll still be here when you wake up". Already dozing off, Romana stirred again and shook her head weakly. "No, you…you can go keep busy. I'll…be…fine" she yawned again, and drifted off.

She looked so peaceful, his hearts swelled with affection. He kissed her on the forehead, and lay beside her for a while until restlessness settled in his bones. Then he carefully slipped out from under the covers and very quietly tiptoed out of the door, shutting it with great care behind him. The TARDIS pulsed peacefully and the lights were dimmed to represent night-time (although there was no point in keeping time aboard a time machine, ironically). The Doctor trailed a hand along the wall as he walked down the corridor, with no particular destination in mind.

Eventually his wanderings led him to the door of the library. He was not the only occupant however, as sitting in a chair beside a lamp was the Corsair, holding a bunch of parenting books on his lap. "Hi" the Doctor said quietly, but still managed to startle the other man, who jumped slightly. "Oh, hi Doctor. I was just, you know, doing some preparatory reading" he explained, looking awkward, as if he hadn't wanted to be caught reading books with titles like 'Your Baby and You' or 'Things for dad to do'.

"That's nice…" the Doctor replied, just as awkwardly. The two of them didn't meet each other's eyes, but just sat opposite each other and shifted uncomfortably. "Um…can't you sleep?" the Corsair asked, just to fill the silence. He set the books aside, stood up and stretched, feeling kinks in his back straighten out. "We don't usually sleep much anyway" the Doctor reminded him, "but yeah, I haven't been sleeping much lately. Too worried, I suppose" he admitted.

The Corsair raised an eyebrow, dropping back into the armchair with a thump and putting his feet on a low table. The TARDIS creaked around them and he quickly took his boots off the table, dusting the area off. Incurring the wrath of a sentient time machine was not something they ever wanted to do. "About Romana, you mean?" he asked, "she seems fine to me. I mean, apart from the whole, you know…." He trailed off and mimed a pregnant stomach.

Now it was the Doctor's turn to raise an eyebrow; his fellow Time Lord resisted the urge to make a quip about how he didn't really have any. "Okay, yes, I'm worried about Romana. It's not just her though, it's…other things" the Doctor conceded vaguely, avoiding the Corsair's gaze. "Have you talked to Romana about whatever it is you're worried about?" the other man inquired.

"I don't want to worry her unnecessarily"

"Okay, fair enough…but won't she be more worried if she senses that you're worried and she doesn't know _why _you're worried and then she gets worried that you're worried about something she too should be worried about?"

"….I don't think anyone has ever said 'worried' so many times in one sentence"

"Ha, ha, very funny"

"Hmm. Maybe you have a point"

"Shocking, I know" the Corsair quipped, and the Doctor laughed in spite of himself. _Theta? Can you come back, I'm…lonely _Romana asked shyly, and he smiled even though she couldn't see him. _Of course, I'll be right there _he replied, getting to his feet. "Missus calling you?" inquired the Corsair. The Doctor picked up a book from the table and tossed it at him. "Just read your books".

/

When he returned, Romana was sitting in bed eating…fish fingers and custard. She'd stopped disliking it a few weeks ago, and now it was her second favourite craving food after chocolate ice cream. "Where did you get this from?" the Doctor asked, coming over to the bed. "The TARDIS made it for me, I was getting hungry. There's protein in fish, right?" she asked, before taking a large bite of her midnight snack. "Yeah, and Omega 3, all sorts of good stuff…can I have some?" he asked tentatively. Romana swallowed and answered "I guess you can have a couple…but it's my food, remember".

"I know. How's our daughter?"

"She's fast asleep. I think she might be dreaming too"

"Maybe she's dreaming about fishes" the Doctor suggested, and she snickered softly. "Maybe…Theta, should I be worried?"

"Worried? About what?"

"Well…about whatever you're worried about. I know you're worried about something, I can feel it"

"Oh…it's nothing you need to worry about, love. You just concentrate on getting plenty of food and rest, okay?"

"Doctor, don't patronise me. We're married, we _both _promised to love and support each other. How can I do that if you don't tell me when something is bothering you?" Romana said sternly, folding her arms and glaring at him. The Doctor sighed and nodded in agreement. "You're right, you're right. I'm sorry", he gave her a kiss, and dipped the last half of his fish finger in the custard. "Well, what is it? Why are you so worried? It's because I'm ugly, isn't it? I'm ugly and now you want to divorce me…"

"Wha-?" the Doctor nearly choked. He swallowed the custardy fish finger and hastened to say "No, no, you're not ugly and I'm not divorcing you, not ever. I'm just…now that you're due date is getting closer, I've been worried about, well, more or less the same things you're worried about" he explained, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck. He would have straightened his bowtie, but…well, he wasn't wearing one.

Romana looked at him in confusion. "What I'm worried about?" she repeated in a questioning tone; she couldn't think of anything she was worried about that he'd worry about as well. "I know you're worried about whether or not you'll be a good mum…I'm worried about whether or not I'll be a good dad" the Doctor admitted, but this did little to alleviate Romana's bewilderment. "You are? But…but you've done this before" she pointed out.

"Yes, I've been a dad before…and to tell you the truth, I worried back then too. In a way I have more to worry about now because I didn't have, well, arch enemies back on Gallifrey. I'm worried that I won't be able to protect you, and our daughter; that I'll leave you both somewhere to keep you safe but then come back twenty years too late; that something will happen to me, or to us, and our daughter will be on her own…I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you, that's why I never said anything" the Doctor explained apologetically.

His wife reached up and stroked his cheek. "Don't be sorry" she murmured, "I'm glad you told me. You'll be a great dad, Theta. I know you can protect us, and that you won't be late, and I know our daughter will never be on her own. She'll always have one of us, or the Corsair and Flavia, or our friends to turn to. I think…we're both worried about the future. I guess the only thing we can do is…hold hands and…hope for the best, right?"

The Doctor smiled and leaned over to give her another kiss. "You're absolutely right. And for the record, you'll be a great mum. Now let's eat the rest of this midnight snack" he suggested, only for Romana to hug the bowl to her and hog it all.

/

Much, much later that morning, Romana finally dredged up enough energy to manoeuvre herself out of bed and leave the bedroom. The TARDIS obligingly moved the kitchen just a door away, to which Romana was very grateful. Everyone had been so helpful and patient, it moved her near to tears every time she thought about it (although she could probably blame that on the hormones). The TARDIS would make life easier in little ways like this, Flavia was always willing to talk for hours, the Corsair could cheer her up nearly every time she was in a bad mood and the Doctor had been just wonderful.

As nice as it was to be taken care of, Romana had always been the independent sort, and she was ready to become a mother, and do some taking care of her own. Oh, she was still nervous and sometimes still doubted whether she'd be any good…but the Doctor believed in her, and she believed in him, and together she was certain they could face any challenge.

The others were already in the kitchen, and the Corsair was frying sausages. "Mmm. I'll have four - no, six. The six juiciest, meatiest sausages you've got" Romana insisted, practically drooling, before adding as an afterthought, "good morning". She carefully settled in a seat the Doctor pulled out for her; then he asked "Do you want something to drink?"

"Some peppermint tea would be nice" she replied with a smile. "Good morning to you as well" Flavia greeted, and Romana felt the baby shift in her womb. "This one says 'hello' as well" she grinned, "or maybe she's just fidgety".

Over by the cooker, the Corsair laughed. "Yeah! Hey, Flavia, so much for the kid taking after her mother, eh? She's already practicing her running skills" he grinned. Romana smiled in amusement and stroked a hand over her belly. "She likes you two, you know. She always feels happy when she hears your voices" she told the Corsair and Flavia, who both looked touched. "Really? That's adorable" said Flavia with a fond smile.

"I think she gets confused sometimes though" the Doctor interjected as he gave Romana her tea, "we have to keep reminding her that _we're _her parents. I wonder what she'll call us when she's born. I mean, Melody called Amy 'big milk thing' when she was a baby…not that her mother actually knew that, obviously".

"Yeah, until you pointed it out" the Corsair reminded him, before sharing out the sausages. Three for him, two for Flavia, three for the Doctor and the remaining four for Romana; they put them in bread buns, drizzled generous amounts of ketchup on them and tucked in. "Have you thought of a name yet?" Flavia asked Romana, who swallowed a large bite of sausage sandwich and replied "We have an idea in mind, but…we might still change it if we think of something else".

"Did the Doctor tell you what he was worried about?" the Corsair asked blithely, much to the Doctor's annoyance. Romana patted his hand and replied, "Yes, he did, and we talked about it. Everything's fine now".

"Oh, good…um, if you're still worried…I was going to wait until someone brought it up again but to be honest…you know when I go walking on my own?" the Corsair asked, and they all nodded. "Well, I actually take a hansom to some part of the city I haven't been before, and search for alien activity, or technology, and get rid of it if I can. I haven't found much, hardly any aliens come to Earth before the Space Age for obvious reasons…I did stop some Raxicoricofallapatorians one time though, about four months ago. Just out of curiosity, what did you guys _think _I was doing?"

Flavia looked uncomfortable. "I…I actually thought you were drinking" she admitted sheepishly, "I'm sorry Corsair. I shouldn't have misjudged you like that" she apologised. "No, you shouldn't" he agreed, "but I accept your apology". The two of them smiled genuinely at one another, before the Corsair cleared his throat and continued, "That's not the only thing I've been doing. I've also been helping people – rescuing maidens from men with spurious intentions, aiding in the moving of heavy objects. You can't expect me to hide _these _bad boys away, now can you?" he asked, flexing his triceps.

"Oh, brother" Flavia scoffed, rolling her eyes – and just like that, the spell was broken. "And to think they were almost having a moment" the Doctor whispered to Romana, who giggled. Safe in her womb, her daughter projected her eager, youthful joy, bright and clear.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Pregnant Preparations

It was 2:15 in the morning, Earth time, and all the inhabitants of the TARDIS were asleep but one. Over the past ten months, Romana had been woken up from deep slumber by many things – cravings, bathroom needs, and nightmares – but now she had been awakened by something scarier than all her nightmares put together. "Theta, wake up. Please, wake up Doctor, please!" she begged, shaking her husband, who sat up, alert at once. He switched on the lamp. "What is it, Ro?"

Romana bit her lip and stared up at him with a terrified expression. "I just had a contraction, its real this time, I know it is" she whispered, her voice shaking, and the Doctor's eyes widened. "Right, okay. Okay, right. Right, um, clothes, you'll need clothes, your bag, err…" he hurried about their room like a panicked squirrel, not that Romana noticed. She just sat there in a daze, much like she had when she first discovered she was pregnant. "Romana?" the Doctor asked, realising she wasn't moving. "Ro, you need to get dressed. Come on, up you get". He helped her out of bed and stroked her cheek.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she held his hand against her skin. "I can't believe this is really happening" she mumbled, cradling her bump. The Doctor smiled and brushed away her tears, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "It's a big day. You're going to be fine, trust me" he assured her, before helping her to get dressed. Part of her wanted to just give birth in her pyjamas, but she also felt embarrassed at the thought. When they were both dressed, Romana suddenly cried out in pain, clutching at her stomach.

The Doctor was by her side in moments, holding her hands. "Shh, you're fine, just breathe. Deep breaths, that's it" he encouraged. Romana had gone to some antenatal classes, and learned breathing exercises. She had practised them so much the last few months, that she found herself doing them without thinking. After a few minutes the contraction lessened, but she knew this was just the beginning.

In an attempt to alert the others, the TARDIS set the Cloister Bell tolling. The Corsair, swimming in the pool, hauled himself out and towelled off quickly; Flavia was stargazing, but she went straight back inside when the tolling reached her ears. Straight away she checked the controls to see what might be setting off the Cloister Bell. The Corsair came skidding into the console room, still in his swimming trunks, hair sticking up all over. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I have no idea, there's nothing…oh, but Romana - it's been ten months hasn't it? I think…Corsair, I think she's gone into labour" Flavia realised. Normally the Cloister Bell only went off in dire emergencies, but the Doctor's TARDIS was more than a little sentient, capable of setting it off herself – and besides, this _was _a sort of emergency. The Corsair rushed to throw on some clothes, returning just in time to find the Doctor guiding a very pale Romana into the console room. He looked extremely flustered. "Okay, no-one panic. Everything is under control. Don't panic" he rambled.

"Doctor!" Flavia said sharply, "no-one is panicking. How are you managing, Romana?" she asked sympathetically. Romana managed a weak smile and replied "So far, so good. I just have to stay calm". She focused on breathing, nice and deep, whilst the others piloted the TARDIS to the wing of the Infinite Schism hospital she'd be giving birth in. Sister Leigh was passing when they emerged from the time machine – the Doctor rushed up, grabbed her by the shoulders and babbled "Wife, help, baby, now!"

Sister Leigh remained remarkably calm all things considered. "Your wife is having her baby now and needs help?" she translated, and the Doctor nodded emphatically. "Okay, I'll have everything prepped and a wheelchair sent to you, just wait there" the nurse reassured them, adding "also, congratulations!" before hurrying off down the corridor. The Doctor returned to Romana's side and put an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her bump gently. "Okay, good. Everything's fine" he murmured.

She smiled and pressed her forehead to his. _You'll stay with me, won't you? _

_Wild bulls couldn't stop me. _Daleks _couldn't stop me from being there for you._

_Thank you, Theta. For everything…I don't know what I would do without you. _

The nurse returned with a wheelchair, and explained "The maternity room is just down this way. Now, your husband and friends will need to wait outside for a little while until we get you sorted out, but then they can come in and see you". This seemed fair enough, so to help the Corsair pushed Romana in the wheelchair to the room, and pulled it out again once she'd been settled on the bed.

Outside in the long, empty, shiny hall, a mischievous grin spread across the Corsair's face. "Hey…you want a ride?" he asked the others, pushing the wheelchair back and forth. The Doctor just sat on the end chair in a row of four and stared at the door, like a pining dog. The Corsair decided there was no point trying to snap him out of it and looked hopefully at Flavia instead. She glared at him disapprovingly. "I hardly think now is the time for games, Corsair" she pointed out, and he quickly sobered up. "You're right. Sorry. I guess I'm just nervous".

"You're not the one whose baby is coming".

"Well, yeah, that doesn't mean I can't be nervous. I mean, the kid's the first…you know what in who knows how many years? It's kind of a big deal".

"Good point" Flavia conceded, before sighing. "I suppose all we can do now is wait; I'm sure Romana will be fine though. So you can stop worrying Doctor" she told the other Time Lord, who just kept his gaze fixated on the door.

"Course she will…you know, labour does take an awfully long time, and we've got nothing to do, and there's no-one around…"

"I brought a book to read".

"Well, I didn't".

"…Very well, do what you want. Just don't blame us if you get in trouble" Flavia warned him. The Corsair jumped up, gave her a mock salute, and ran down the corridor with the wheelchair. He jumped onto a bar on the back, intending to ride it chariot style along the linoleum, only for his weight to tip the chair over and send both him and it toppling to the floor. Luckily, no one seemed to hear the crash, and he quickly got to his feet…only to set about trying to persuade Flavia to ride in the wheelchair and give him a counterweight.

/

Back in the maternity room, Romana was dressed in a hospital gown – another reason to question the necessity of getting dressed, since she'd just had to take her clothes off anyway. She was nervous, as would be expected, but in some ways that was a good thing. Romana was so busy trying not to panic that she didn't have time to feel embarrassed from all the attention she was receiving. "Roughly how far apart are your contractions?" asked Sister Andrea, and Romana's brow creased as she tried to work it out. "Um, the first one happened at about 2:30 aagh!" she cried out as another one hit.

Andrea nodded professionally and checked her watch. "It's 3:25 now, so about an hour apart. That seems a bit close, are you certain this is your second contraction?" she asked Romana, who took a deep breath and nodded. "It might be different with us, I don't know, there wasn't anything in the books. I don't think there was" she rambled, looking worried.

"Your contractions aren't too painful yet, are they?" asked Sister Andrea, and Romana had to think about it for a moment before shaking her head. "That's good. They'll get worse, I'm afraid, but each one brings you a little bit closer to holding your daughter in your arms. I think you're sorted for now, just use that button beside your bed there to call me if you need anything. I'll come back to check on you every ten minutes or so, alright? Good. I'll let your husband in then".

She hardly opened the door before the Doctor rushed into the room, straight to Romana's side. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Romana leaned into his touch and smiled lovingly. "I'm okay for now…I'm glad you're here though" she murmured, and he wrapped his arms around her. Flavia pulled up a chair on the other side of Romana's bed, and held her hand supportively. The Corsair took to pacing back and forth across the room, looking the most agitated of any of them.

/

Soon the Corsair's uncomfortableness got the better of him, and Romana was more than happy for him to leave. She would be happy if just the Doctor was there, but she needed someone there, because this whole giving birth thing was a lot harder than she had anticipated. Seven hours into labour, Sister Andrea came to check her progress and announced "Right, you're two and a half centimetres dilated. You're making very good progress!"

Romana stared at her in confusion and disbelief. "But…but it's been…there must be some mistake, it's been seven hours! How um, dilated do I have to be before I can actually give birth?" she asked nervously, not sure she wanted to hear the answer. "Ten centimetres, but don't worry, you're doing very well. Try rocking from side to side when another contraction hits, that can help the baby position herself properly" Andrea explained.

When she was gone, Romana turned to the Doctor with a helpless expression. "How much longer?" she half asked, half whined, in the most pitiful way. The Doctor rubbed her back and replied "I don't know, love, but just hang on. Like she said, you're doing well. You're doing brilliantly" he soothed. Something occurred to Romana, and she tentatively asked "How long does giving birth normally take?"

"Well, it varies a lot, but…for first time infants, it can sometimes be up to seventeen hours total" the Doctor admitted, wincing when he saw her shell-shocked expression. Romana whimpered and burst into tears, burying her face in the Doctor's chest and soaking her shirt through. He and Flavia exchanged helpless looks, and the other Time Lady offered to fetch Romana a glass of water. Another contraction hit, and Romana gripped the Doctor's hand so tightly he lost feeling in the tips of his fingers, but he didn't care.

At the twelve hour mark, Romana was alternating between sobbing in the Doctor's arms and yelling crossly at him for a number of things, sometimes barely related to her current predicament. "This is your _entire_ fault!" she screamed at him, "if you'd just kept your hands off me I wouldn't be in this mess! Don't tell me to calm down! When you have a person inside of you trying to get out, you try staying calm!" she snarled. The Doctor nodded meekly, and sure enough, her words eventually caught up with her brain and she apologised profusely, swearing that she loved him and wasn't really mad at him.

/

Flavia and the Corsair had all been kicked out by Romana when her hormones turned to terror mode, and they decided it was best if they gave her some space. They went to the hospital 'garden', an convalescence area set aside for recovering patients with a lot of foliage and a mural on the roof of cranes flying over a blue sky. Well, they might have been ibises; it was hard to tell since the ceiling was so tall.

"I think this would be a nice place for Romana to sit with the baby, when this is all over. Remind me to suggest it to them" Flavia commented, leaning over to smell some lilies. The Corsair nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah, good idea" he said vaguely. Flavia thought about asking him what was wrong, but decided against it. They were all a little stressed out, and it was better if they just tried to stay calm and not get on each other's nerves too much.

/

After fifteen hours, Romana had reached the nine centimetre mark, her waters broke, and her contractions were happening much more regularly. They were also very painful, and it wasn't long before she gave up trying to muffle her screams. At first she hadn't wanted to disturb anyone, even when the Doctor informed her the room was completely soundproof, but now she just let loose.

It broke the Doctor's hearts to hear his wife in such agony, and the only thing tempering that heartbreak was the knowledge that soon, they would have their daughter with them. What hurt more, although he knew she didn't mean to make him feel bad, were Romana's helpless murmurs in the moments when she wasn't having a contraction, and the exhaustion and hormones muddled her brain.

"I want my mum, I want my dad. I want to go home. Why aren't I on Gallifrey? Why…why aren't they loomed?" she begged, and asked, and it tore the Doctor apart inside to have to tell her, as gently as he could, that her parents couldn't be there, and they couldn't be on Gallifrey, but he'd stay there as long as she needed him to. Sometimes her confused mutterings were almost funny, like when she asked if he couldn't just sonic the baby out, but the Doctor really wasn't in a mood for laughing.

Fortunately, the next couple of contractions finished the first stage of labour. When Sister Andrea informed her that it was almost over, Romana had gaped at her in disbelief. "…I've changed my mind. I'm not ready for this bit" she whimpered, frightened. Andrea smiled sympathetically at her and replied "I'm afraid this part is necessary, Mrs Smith. But it won't take as long as the first part, and soon you'll be able to hold your daughter. Now, your next contraction should hit soon, and when it does I want you to push as hard as you can, okay?"

Romana nodded weakly, gripping the mattress with one hand and the Doctor's hand with the other. Unimaginable pain washed over her, and she pushed as hard as she could but it didn't seem to be _doing _anything…she was just about to beg – or scream – for a painkiller, when the pain subsided considerably. Romana gradually became aware of the Doctor's forehead pressed to hers, cupping the back of her head with his free hand…he was opening their bond, taking some of the pain she felt into his own mind.

He could hardly believe himself how much it hurt, and this was only half of what Romana was feeling. _ I now officially have twice as much respect for mothers _he decided. Romana tried to resist; even in pain and half delirious from hormones and exhaustion and gas and air, she didn't want him to be hurt. They shared the burden, and gradually, Romana began to think that maybe, just maybe, she could get through this.

At long last, sixteen hours and forty five minutes after her labour began, Romana heard a baby wailing. She opened her eyes, although she didn't remember closing them, and looked down at the bottom of the bed. Sister Andrea was cradling a small form, gently wrapping her in a towel as Dr Lambert cut the umbilical cord. Much to Romana's distress, the nurse moved away from her. "No…where are you going? Come back, give me my baby, please" she sobbed.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. They're just cleaning her up, and making sure she's healthy" the Doctor tried to reassure her. Romana's eyes widened. "What if she isn't? What if something went wrong, and she doesn't make it?" she asked, panicked. "She's crying, Doctor. She needs me". She almost started climbing out of bed before pain shot through her abdomen, reminding her that even though she'd given birth she was still very sore. "I know, and that's the cry of a healthy baby – look, Andrea's bringing her over now".

He helped Romana to sit up, and arranged their daughter comfortably in her arms. The moment she was holding the life she'd help create, all of Romana's fears and doubts and worries vanished. The world – no, the universe – narrowed to this bed with her baby girl in her arms and her husband by her side. She reached out gently, wrapping her mind around her baby's, and felt her daughter _recognise _her…and then her daughter squirmed, and opened two brilliant blue eyes. Happy tears trickled down both the Doctor's and Romana's cheeks. "Hello, my precious little one. Oh, you are just _perfect_".

/

A/N: The baby's born, yay! You'll find out the name early in the next chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Pregnant Preparations

Out in the garden, Flavia decided enough was enough and asked "Is something wrong, Corsair?" The Time Lord jumped slightly, eyes going round. "No, what, no; why would anything be wrong?" he said far too quickly. Flavia raised an eyebrow and gave him a pointed look; he sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. "It's just…well…hospiremimeohouse" he said in an unintelligible swift mutter.

"I beg your pardon?"

"HospitalsremindmeofHouse"

"Corsair, what-?"

"Hospitals remind me of House!" the Corsair snapped, a bit louder than he intended. Two patients and a nurse nearby threw them disapproving glances and he winced. "I know it's daft, and I should be over it by now, but…hospitals make me think of what happened on that damned asteroid" he explained, fingers clenching on his knees. Flavia wasn't sure what to say, so she settled for patting his hand sympathetically. "Corsair, we've…we've been to this hospital before, you weren't so on edge then…" she pointed out cautiously.

"We haven't stayed here for hours on end before, have we?" he replied a little testily, before sighing, and adding "Sorry".

"It's quite alright…is that Sister Leigh?" Flavia wondered, noticing a nurse hurrying towards them. Both Time Lords rose to their feet as she approached, face wreathed in smiles. "Oh, there you are! Come with me, there's someone I think you'll want to meet" she told them. The Corsair and Flavia looked at one another and smiled excitedly. The baby! The baby had been born!

When they went into the room, quiet as mice, they found Romana and the Doctor gazing at a bundle in Romana's arms, both with matching contented smiles. As they gingerly approached the bed, Romana looked up at them, her eyes shining with happy tears. "Hi" she whispered hoarsely, beaming. "I'd like you to meet our daughter – Emily Freya Smith" she introduced the infant in her arms, who was gripping the Doctor's finger and looking up at her mother and father with round blue eyes.

Flavia gasped in delight. "Oh, Romana, she's _gorgeous_!" she whispered, gently stroking Emily's head. The Corsair smiled broadly, and gave Romana a thumbs-up when she looked up at him, making her smile. That smile became fond when she glanced at the Doctor, and found him still with his gaze riveted on Emily. He could hardly believe she was real, even though he could see and hear and feel her. "Doctor? You should hold her" Romana murmured, and he looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Of course; she's your daughter as well" Romana answered, carefully lifting Emily from the pillow Sister Andrea had given her, and placing her into the Doctor's arms. He settled Emily against his chest and leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her nose. "Hello, sweetheart; we've all been waiting a long time to meet you, and now you're here, I promise you will always be safe, and loved, and cared for. You've got me, your daddy, your mummy, your godmother Flavia, and your godfather, the Corsair, and all our friends. You'll never be alone, my little Emily" he told her, rocking her gently.

When he looked up at Romana, fresh tears were spilling down her face, and both the others looked extremely touched. "You really want us to be her godparents?" asked the Corsair, and both parents nodded. "I can't think of any people I'd trust more to take care of our Emily if something happened to us" Romana said with certainty. "Well, we're more than happy to be her godparents, she's such a precious thing" Flavia smiled, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

The Corsair admitted quietly, "You know, I thought you'd name her after the stars, or something. Not that Emily isn't a good name" he added quickly. Romana smiled and explained "We did think of naming her after a star, but then we decided it might sound too…pretentious, I suppose? The Doctor suggested naming her Amelia, but…as much as I like Amy, I wanted our baby to have her own name…but Amelia can be changed to Amelie, which sounds like Emily if you say it quickly enough…and that's how she got her first name".

Still cradling Emily in his arms, the Doctor continued, "Then we chose Freya for her middle name, since it means 'lady', and in honour of Gallifrey. We, erm, also gave her a Gallifreyan name. She might not ever use it, but her full Gallifreyan name is Emeyadvotrelundar, or Emeya for short" he explained, before snickering and adding, "Of course she might decide to change it to Fred". Romana laughed as well.

Emily kicked her little feet, and grasped at thin air, reaching out telepathically to her parents. She shared a telepathic bond with her mother, that shielded her still developing mind from the onslaught of thoughts from the non-telepathic species all around them. In the womb, she had only responded to their minds; to feel her reaching out on her own, full of curiosity, thrilled the Doctor and Romana.

_Hello there…I'm your mummy, and the person holding you is your daddy, and we both love you very much _

_More than the entire universe _

_Happy voice, where pretty voice? _

_Oh…oh you brilliant girl. Look at you, using telepathy, and you're only a few hours old! _

_Want pretty voice! Hungry! _

_I guess 'pretty voice' is me then, eh? Okay, sweetheart. Come to mummy. _The Doctor placed Emily back in Romana's arms, and helped to arrange her comfortably so she could suckle. Then he looked up at the Corsair and Flavia, explaining "She recognises us by our voices, from when she was in the womb. I'm 'happy voice', Romana is 'pretty voice', and the two of you are… 'quiet voice' and 'funny voice', oh, and I should stop interrupting her when she's feeding. Sorry, darling" he apologised, gently rubbing Emily's back.

"Bless her…what?" Romana asked the Doctor, who was looking at her with the soppiest smile on his face. "You're so beautiful" he murmured, and even though she knew she looked a mess, she blushed and smiled back. "Emily has your second incarnations hair" he noted, stroking her chubby pink cheek with a finger. Romana smiled fondly. "She has your fourth incarnations eyes…my sixth incarnations nose...and your current incarnations ears. Poor girl" she said teasingly.

"At least she didn't inherit his chin" the Corsair pointed out, and the Doctor frowned. "Oi!"

Romana laughed softly, trying not to jostle Emily too much. Looking down at the baby in her arms, it hit her all at once – this was it. This was the rest of their lives, being parents to the most beautiful baby girl she'd ever laid eyes on. Well, she was probably biased, but still. Rather than terrify her as it had done earlier, the thought made Romana's hearts swell. If she never saw another new planet, never saved a civilisation again, if the rest of her lives were spent in one time and place with Emily and the Doctor…she would be completely happy with that.

_Just so you know, I feel the same way _the Doctor told her, and Emily projected a distinct feeling of impatience. _Eating, no talky! _She insisted loudly, having not yet mastered volume control for her thoughts. Through the bond shared with her mother, Emily could hear the telepathic voices of her mother and father if they projected to her or each other; but she could only project to them. Romana's own mental walls shielded her daughter – eventually, when she established her own mental barriers, the telepathic bond would weaken and disappear.

"Looks like we'll have to watch what we, erm, think around her" Romana told the Doctor, who smiled and replied "That's alright; it means I get to tell you out loud that I love you, instead of just in your head". He leaned in to give her a kiss, both them apparently forgetting that Flavia and the Corsair were still in the room. The Corsair mock-gagged, but his grin belied the fact that he thought it was actually kind of sweet. Flavia just sighed and decided not to comment.

_I tired. Want sleep _Emily informed them; so the Doctor placed her carefully in a little bassinet, still wrapped in her blanket. Suddenly he remembered Barry, and pulled the little bear from his pocket, tucking it into Emily's tiny palm. Her fingers grasped the soft toy bear, frowning in bewilderment. _This is Barry. He's your very own teddy _the Doctor explained. _Want sleep _Emily repeated, yawning widely and dozing off. The Doctor felt one of his hearts melt, and the other one explode from the cuteness.

The Corsair announced "I'm going to go find the shop and buy the kid a present. Are you coming, Flavia?" he inquired as he headed for the door. "Hmm? Oh, yes, good idea. Wait, do you even have money?" she asked. The Corsair dug a hand in his pocket and pulled out a credit stick. "See, I can be prepared". Once they had left, the Doctor took the opportunity to keep kissing his beautiful, wonderful wife. "Thank you" he said as he pulled away.

"For what?" she asked curiously, and he smiled. "For lots of things; for staying with me even after we'd found the Key to Time, for marrying me, and for giving me the sweetest, most adorable baby girl in the universe. I mean it, if I never travelled again, so long as I had you and Emily, I would be home. For centuries, the TARDIS was the only home I had, but…home is where the hearts are, and you two, my girls, you have one of each".

Romana felt herself tearing up again, and tried not to cry, to no avail. "How do you say things that are so cheesy and make them sound so lovely?" she asked rhetorically, and the Doctor shrugged. He brushed her tears away and she smiled gratefully at him, but her smile faded when she remembered some of the things she'd said during labour. "Doctor? I, um…I want you to know, now that I've calmed down…I love you, and I'm sorry for everything I said, and shouted before, I didn't mean any of it" she told him.

"It's okay, Romana. I understand, you were in pain, and loopy from the gas and air…I know you didn't mean it, and I love you too" the Doctor reassured her, but something still bothered Romana. "I told you I wanted to go home, to Gallifrey, didn't I?" she realised, moaning, "I'm sorry, Theta. I must have made you feel awful…"

"I don't blame you; besides, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Gallifrey as well…I think, when she's old enough to understand, I'll tell her the truth about what happened to our planet, what I did…she might hate me for it, but…she deserves to know the truth. She deserves to know why she won't ever see her home planet" the Doctor said quietly. Romana wrapped her arms around him. "She'd never hate you, don't be ridiculous" she scolded lightly, "I can already tell she is going to adore you, just as much as you adore her" she added.

/

Downstairs in the shop, Flavia was doing her utmost to stop the Corsair from buying one of every toy for a little girl they had. "I know she's our goddaughter, and I know you probably have plenty of money on that credit stick, but we also have plenty of toys back on the TARDIS" she said firmly. The Corsair looked sulky for a moment, before he spotted something else. "Look!" he grinned, plucking it off the shelf and showing it to Flavia.

It was a teddy bear, in a shade of blue very similar to the TARDIS, with a silver E printed on its chest. "E for Emily, it's perfect! What are you going to get her?" he asked. Flavia held up a metallic shooting star. "It's to hang onto a mobile" she explained. They also bought a pink balloon labelled with 'Baby Girl', and a bunch of flowers from the garden. "Oh, yeah, don't forget to suggest sitting in the garden to Romana" the Corsair reminded Flavia, even though the flowers had already done so.

When they returned to the room, they found Romana resting against the Doctor, eyes closed. He pressed a finger to his lips and told them _Shh, she's exhausted. _Flavia placed the flowers in a vase fetched by Sister Andrea, whilst the Corsair tied the balloon to the bedstead with one hand. He placed the blue teddy bear beside Emily, tickling her under the chin with a finger, making her squirm in her sleep. She was so _small. _The same protectiveness he'd felt over his niece Melody, now blossomed for Emily, the first Time Tot born in over four hundred years.

_There's an indoor garden a few floors down. Perhaps we can sit there when Romana's woken up _Flavia suggested to the Doctor, who nodded distractedly. He was too busy being a pillow for Romana, not that he minded at all. Both she and Emily had had a long day, and they were all more than happy to just let mother and daughter sleep and dream.

/

Hours later, the Doctor was stirred from dozing when he felt a feather light nudge against his mind. Opening his eyes, he found Romana still lost in slumber, the Corsair leaning against the far wall playing with a Rubik's Cube, and Flavia sitting on a chair reading a book. Then he peered into the cot holding his baby girl, who was blinking open her beautiful blue eyes. _Happy voice _she thought when she saw him.

The Doctor smiled in fond amusement and gently stroked the bridge of her nose. _Emily, I'm your daddy _he told her, and she scrunched her little nose up. _Happy voice, cuddle! _She demanded stubbornly, so he carefully lifted her from the crib and settled her in his arms. Her little hand clutched Barry, and her other hand grasped his finger. He rocked her gently as she wriggled, her little legs kicking. Barely a day old and she already wanted to run, bless her.

Quite soon though, she relaxed in his arms and just gazed up at him, her eyes filled with innocent curiosity. _Happy voice…daddy? _She thought hesitantly, like she was testing it. The Doctor's hearts melted. _That's right, I'm your daddy. _

_Pretty voice…mummy? _

_Yes, pretty voice is your mummy. She's sleeping just now_

_Quiet voice? Funny voice? _

_Quiet voice is Flavia and funny voice is the Corsair. They're your godparents _

_What that? _

_They're going to help us look after you _

_Why?_

_Well, taking care of a baby is hard work _explained Romana, rousing from sleep and smiling down at Emily, who was scrunching her face up in the most adorable little scowl. _Not baby! Big girl! _She insisted, and her parents chuckled. _Of course, darling _they soothed, _whatever you say. _

/

A/N: There's only two chapters left of this story before I'll start writing the third in the series, which will follow the remainder of series seven up to The Time of the Doctor. My plan is to do a time skip of eight years in the next two chapters, but if you guys are interested, I'll also write a side story about Emily growing up.

Also, I got the idea for Emily inheriting physical traits from her parents past incarnations from LizzeXX's Lunar Cycle series. I asked her for permission to use this idea and she agreed, so don't worry. I highly recommend her stories; she's a very good author.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: 

Coming of Age – Part One

_5th October -8 years later _

Moving quiet as a mouse, Emily crawled towards her parents' bed. She pushed her long blonde hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ears, before sneaking right up to the side of the bed. Two quilt covered lumps lay side by side on the mattress, and the most mischievous grin spread across Emily's face as she climbed onto the bed. With a count of three, she jumped between the lumps and shouted "Boo!"

Her parents didn't shriek or jump – in fact, they didn't do anything at all. Confused, Emily pulled the covers back to find piles of pillows…they'd tricked her! Emily looked to either side of the room, but not behind her, so she didn't see a person reaching out…

"Gotcha!"

Emily let out a loud squeal as hands grabbed her round the waist and pulled her back and up, settling her onto her dad's shoulders. "Daddy!" she exclaimed happily, leaning over to beam at him; but then she pouted. "You and mummy tricked me" she said, and the Doctor replied "Well, you were going to surprise us, so we surprised you instead. Sorry, sweetheart, but you'll have to get up a lot earlier to get past me and your mum. Our minds are as sharp as…as…."

"Porcupines?"

"Precisely, our minds are as sharp as porcupines. Aren't they, Romana?" he asked his wife, who had just come out of the en-suite, towelling her damp hair after a bath. "They certainly are" she replied, giving him a peck on the lips; then he crouched down so she could kiss Emily on the cheek. "Good morning, darling. Happy birthday!" she smiled at her daughter, who beamed widely. "Yes!" the Doctor exclaimed, bouncing Emily up and down, "Happy, happy birthday to you! What do you want to do today?" he asked Emily.

She answered straight away. "I want to look into the Untempered Schism!"

Her parents glanced worriedly at one another, and Romana said "Well, you can, but don't you think you should pace yourself a bit? You haven't even eaten breakfast yet" she pointed out, and right on cue, Emily's stomach growled. The Doctor lifted Emily off his shoulders and set her down on the bed. "I'll race you to the kitchen, one, two, three, go!" he said quickly, darting for the door. Emily jumped off the bed and ran off, giggling. Romana smiled, listening to them running down the corridor and laughing.

/

When the Doctor and his daughter reached the kitchen, they were spurred on by the delicious smell of pancakes cooking. The Corsair was just flipping one when Emily burst in, gleefully proclaiming "I win! Ooh, that smells _good._ Can I have some?" she asked the Corsair, standing on tiptoes and peering into the batter filled pan. The Corsair chuckled and replied "You can have some when they're cooked, little miss birthday girl. Did you wake your mum and dad?"

Emily sighed and pouted. "No, they tricked me – but they won't be able to do it again" she said firmly, "after I've looked into the Schism, I'll be able to see the future and I'll _know _when they're trying to trick me" Emily explained as she climbed into a chair at the table. The Doctor set a glass of orange juice with a curly straw in front of her. "It doesn't work like that, Emz" the Corsair told her over his shoulder, "you'll see the future, but you won't see your _own _future" he clarified.

After taking a long sip from her orange juice, Emily asked "When am I going to look into the Schism? Can it be after breakfast? Please, please, please!" she begged her dad, who was making cups of tea for himself and Romana. His wife stepped into the kitchen along with Flavia, who was tying her hair back in a high ponytail. "Good morning, Emily, happy birthday" she greeted the little girl, who smiled happily. "Thanks!"

The Doctor passed Romana a cup of tea, stealing a kiss as he did so. "Our daughter seems a bit too eager to grow up" he informed her, and all four adults looked at Emily, who had crossed her arms and was sitting up as straight as she could. "Emily, darling, why exactly do you want to look into the Schism so much?" Romana asked.

Emily hesitated; she didn't really know _why _she wanted this, she just did. "Because…because then I'll be a Time Lady, like you and Flavia; and then I can help fly the TARDIS, and I'll know loads of things, and I'll be able to regenerate…won't I?" she asked unsurely, her parents serious expressions making her doubt the thought she'd been excited about since she'd first heard about the Schism.

The Doctor and Romana sat down on either side of their daughter, resting a hand on either of her shoulders. "Emily, when we told you about the Untempered Schism yesterday, there were a few things we didn't explain. Mostly because you ran off singing 'I'm going to be a Time Lady' before we could finish" her dad reminded her, and Emily grinned sheepishly. "You would be able to regenerate, and have a vast store of knowledge, and understand how to fly the TARDIS…but, being a Time Lady is more than just being really clever and seeing all of time and space" Romana told her.

"Your mother's right" Flavia interjected, "it's also a responsibility, to defend time and space".

"And it hurts" the Doctor continued, drawing Emily's attention back to him, "looking into time itself, it hurts, and it makes you feel so, so small. It's not fun, or exciting. I'm sorry sweetheart, but it's the truth. Looking into the Time Vortex is very, very dangerous" he explained earnestly. Emily frowned slightly, doubtful and nervous. "But…but you guys looked into it! And you were fine…weren't you?" she asked hesitantly, looking from her dad to her mum.

Romana stroked Emily's hair and explained "We were, but we might not have been. Sometimes people went mad. We can't promise that won't happen to you".

"So why did you tell me about it?" Emily asked, a hint of accusation seeping into her voice; she was momentarily distracted by the Corsair setting a plate of pancakes on the table in front of her, drizzled with maple syrup. As she ate the sticky battered treats with relish, her dad explained "We wanted the choice to be yours, Emily. We talked about it for hours and hours, and we decided that if looking into the Schism would decide your whole future, you were the one who deserved to choose whether it happened or not. You can stay as a Gallifreyan, or you can take the risk and be…be like us".

"We never got to choose, you know" the Corsair put in, "back on Gallifrey, kids like you'd be woken up in the dead of night, taken straight to the Schism and told to look into it. Anyone who refused would be - well, nothing would be _done_ to them, but they'd be…outcasts, you might say. That won't happen to you, though" he added quickly.

"Of course it won't. We all love you very much, darling, and we'll love you no matter what you choose" Romana assured her, and the Doctor added, "I don't mean for it to sound like a test, but it is an important decision. You don't have to look into the Schism today, you don't have to look into it ever, not if you don't want to".

Emily looked at her half eaten plate of pancakes with a pensive expression. She had two questions burning in the forefront of her mind; the first was why they always talked about Gallifrey in the past tense, but she'd asked about that before, and they always looked sad and said they'd explain when she was older. Her second question was… "If I look into the Vortex, and I go mad, will I get in trouble?"

The Doctor did his best not to laugh. "No, you won't be in trouble" he assured her, and Emily looked relieved. "I...I'm gonna think about it for a bit longer. Can we go and see my friends after breakfast?" she asked, and her dad nodded, leaning over and kissing the top of her head. Once drinks had been drunk, and pancakes eaten, Emily went back to her bedroom to get dressed.

/

Once her nursery, the room had changed little over the past eight years. Her crib had been replaced with a bed, the covers decorated like the outside of the TARDIS, with her pillows as the windows, and a small lamp on top of the headboard. It didn't work, but with a glowing holographic moon she didn't exactly need another nightlight.

Emily discarded her star dotted pyjamas and pulled on knickers and socks, bright red leggings, and a t-shirt that she'd tie-dyed herself. Then she shrugged on a pink cardigan, slipped a silver bracelet onto her wrist, and placed a TARDIS blue headband on her brow. The bracelet and headband had been birthday presents from her parents when she was four, and she never went anywhere without them.

She ran back to the console room, bursting with energy and excitement. "Where are we meeting them?" Emily questioned as the adults flew the TARDIS, bouncing up and down. "You'll see" the Corsair winked at her, as the TARDIS landed with a _vworp, vworp, thud. _ The Doctor was closest to the door; he strode down the ramp closely followed by Emily, and opened it with a flourish announcing "Welcome to Disney World!"

A gasp of delight escaped Emily's lips as she stepped out into the bright Florida sunshine, right outside the gates of Disney World. Emily _loved _theme parks, and here was one of the biggest theme parks on Earth, with rollercoasters and rides and animals and candy floss and hot dogs… "Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, hugging her dad tight around his waist. He stumbled a bit and laughed, hugging her back.

"Emily!" called a young boy's voice, and she let go of her dad, looking round to see two boys, both with a shock of ginger hair, running full pelt towards her. She rushed up to them, grinning ear to ear, and gave them both high tens. "Liam, Joshua, hi guys! Hi, Maria!" she greeted the boys, and a black girl who had just caught up to them and was panting. "Don't…run so…fast, I'm…a lot…shorter than you" the seven year old panted.

"You're not _that _short" Joshua retorted; he and Liam were nearly completely identical, except for the fact that Joshua had freckles. "Am too!" Maria insisted. Before they could start bickering in earnest, Liam exclaimed "Guys, come on! We're here for Emily's birthday, remember?" he pointed out; they took a deep breath and cheered in unison "HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!" - earning many strange looks from the other park-goers entering the gates, not that any of them cared. Emily beamed widely and announced "Group hug!" before embracing Joshua, who struggled futilely.

The adults, who had been keeping out of the range of their children's ear piercing shouts, now walked up to greet one another. Donna and Shaun had come with their sons, and Martha and Mickey with their daughter. It was a great big family outing, just like they had every year, and Emily loved it. After the group hug with her three friends, Emily hugged and was hugged by each of the adults and wished a happy birthday. "Shall we go in then?" asked the Doctor.

The park was as busy and noisy and exhilarating as Emily expected. There was just so much to see and do; it was a good thing they had a time machine, because she didn't think a single day would be enough! Whilst they were petting the dolphins, taking a rest after running the adults ragged, Emily asked "Hey guys, can I ask you something?"

They all looked over and nodded. "Shure 'ou 'an" said Liam through a mouthful of hot dog. Emily twisted her cardigan in her hands and explained "See, there's this thing called the Untempered Schism, it's like…a hole you can see the Time Vortex through, and if I look into it, I'll become a Time Lady; but my dad says it hurts, and my mum says I might go crazy, and they _both _say it has to be my choice. I just don't know _what _to choose" she sighed.

"It sounds scary" said Maria, "I don't think you should look through it, Emily. What if you really do go mad?"

"Are you kidding, that would be _awesome_. You could be, like, the ruler of the universe! Can Liam and I be in your army?" Joshua asked eagerly, before wincing as Liam punched him on the shoulder. "Don't be stupid, mad Emily wouldn't rule the universe. She'd blow it up instead!" Liam said confidently, only for Maria to insist that "Emily would never do something like that!"

"Of course not!" Emily herself huffed, "and you guys aren't helping" she added, and Joshua rolled his eyes. "Well, how are _we _supposed to know what to do? We've never even heard of the Un-tempted Shizm" he pointed out.

"It's the _Untempered Schism_"

"Whatever!"

"Did your parents look through the hole?" asked Liam, and Emily blinked before replying "Yeah, and my godparents, why?"

"Well, duh! You should ask them what happened when they did it. Then you'll know what might happen to you"

"That's a good idea" Maria announced, "my mum says 'it's important to learn as much as you can if you have to choose something important, so you can make the right choice'" she recited. Emily looked around and spotted her mum chatting to Mrs Noble; the four of them dashed over. "Mummy, can I ask you something?" Emily inquired, climbing into Romana's lap. "Oh, of course you can, darling, what would you like to know?"

"What happened when you looked into the Schism?" Emily asked innocently, and Donna looked puzzled. "What's the-?" – Barely had the words left her mouth before her sons took it on themselves to explain. "It's a hole in space that you can see the Time Vortex through, and it can turn Emily into a Time Lady" said Joshua, and Liam added "We're asking Emily's mum and dad and godparents what happened to them when they looked into it. It was my idea".

They all looked expectantly at Romana, who cleared her throat. "Well, one of three things happen when a Gallifreyan looks into the Schism; they get inspired, or they go mad, or they run away…inspiration though, that can come in many different forms. I was inspired to study, to do the best I could in my schoolwork…yes, I was pretty boring back then" she admitted, smiling in amusement at the faces Liam and Joshua were pulling at the thought of school.

"But why would you need to study?" asked Emily, "Wouldn't you know everything once you looked into the Schism?"

"The Schism can't make us all knowing, sweetheart. It gives us our ability to read timelines, and sense the turn of whatever planet we're on, but it doesn't let us know _everything_ there is to know about the universe"

"Wait, you can feel the planet turning? Doesn't that make you really dizzy?" asked Liam, and Romana chuckled. "We don't feel any dizzier than you do" she told him, before asking Emily "Does that help?"

Her daughter nodded and climbed off her lap. "Thanks mum; come on guys, let's go ask the Corsair next!" she decided, and the kids promptly ran over to where Emily's godfather was talking to Maria's parents. "Hey, Emz, what's up?" the Corsair asked when Emily ran up to him. "The opposite of down" she replied without missing a beat. "Ha! I've taught you well" the Corsair grinned. Maria held her arms up to her dad, who picked her up and asked "So what kind of trouble are you kids getting into this time?"

"We're not getting into trouble, Mr Jones" replied Emily, before explaining to the Corsair, "We just wanted to know what happened when you looked into the Schism. Mummy said that she was inspired to do well in school".

"Did she now? Well, I can tell you without a doubt that the same thing _didn't _happen to me. When I looked into the Schism I was inspired to explore…I guess I went a bit mad as well. I decided the best way to explore the universe was to join a secret agency and do some of the most dangerous jobs they had" the Corsair explained, before adding in a conspiratorial tone, "your dad asked to come with me once. Wanted to be my 'assistant'– speaking of your dad, why don't you go ask him about this?" he suggested.

The kids headed off yet again, going over to where the Doctor was petting a dolphin. He smiled down at Emily and picked her up so she could stroke the mammal as well. "This is Leon. Say hello, Leon" he told the dolphin, which rolled onto its side and waved a flipper. Emily giggled and waved back. "Daddy, what happened when you looked into the Schism?" she asked.

"To be honest, I ran away" the Doctor admitted, "seeing all of time and space frightened me back then. I ran away, and hid in this old barn near my house. That night I had a dream, that someone told me being afraid was a good thing, it was like a superpower. It could make me kind. That was what inspired me to run _to _things, not away from them. So yeah, that's pretty much what happened" he finished.

"Did you really ask the Corsair if you could be his assistant?"

"Oh, he told you about that, did he? Yeah, I did, but in my defence I was only twelve. He didn't let me come, if you were wondering. It's kind of ironic, looking back" the Doctor mused, before setting Emily down. "Flavia's over there, if you want to ask her for her story next" he informed the children, pointing over to where Flavia was talking to Shaun on the other side of the dolphin tank. "Thanks, daddy – one more to go, guys!"

/

"Flavia, what happened when you looked into the Schism?" asked Emily, and the Time Lady blinked at the unexpected question. Liam and Joshua promptly explained what it was and why they were asking before their dad could even open his mouth and inquire what she was talking about. "I, err, I don't think you'd be very interested" Flavia said doubtfully, only for Emily to pout pleadingly at her. "Please tell us, please, please, please!"

"Oh, very well; although there really isn't much to tell, you know. When I looked into the Schism, I saw how chaotic time and space were, and I was inspired to be ordered, and uphold the laws of Time…to be responsible, I suppose" Flavia mused. Emily looked confused. "I thought you said that being a Time Lady was about being responsible for defending time and space" she reminded Flavia, who sighed and nodded. "Yes, I did…I didn't always see it like that, but…even old minds can change" she murmured.

Maria looked at Emily, who was looking thoughtful. "Do you think you can decide now?" she asked, and Emily rubbed her head. "I don't know…I'm thirsty. Flavia, can I have some money for a drink?" she asked; Shaun stepped up and offered to buy her one instead. Emily thanked him; she really needed a drink to help her think, because now she was more uncertain than ever.

/

But the Untempered Schism is gone, I hear you cry! All will be revealed next chapter ;)


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who and I never will

Coming of Age – Part Two

They lived the same day twice over before the kids had explored every inch of the park, and stuffed themselves with hamburgers, chips, candy floss and milkshakes. Normally their parents wouldn't let them indulge like this, but it was a special occasion and they made the most of it. In the end, the four of them were tired out, and had to be carried by their parental figures back to the TARDIS.

After a short but much needed rest, for all of them, the children roused themselves when cake was mentioned. All of the junk food they'd consumed didn't stop them from eagerly taking large slices of chocolate fudge cake, and the adults just knew they would end up being sick later, but they looked so happy it was hard to say 'no' to them eating so much.

Stuffed to the brim, Emily and her friends played a board game, not having the energy to do anything else. "Have you made up your mind yet?" Joshua asked Emily, who sucked in her cheeks and blew out a breath. "No; I think I'm more unsure than ever, actually. I mean, it sounds like _anything _might happen" she groaned; partly because she was frustrated, and partly because her tummy ached. In retrospect she probably shouldn't have eaten so much. "Maybe you ought to play it safe, and not look?" Maria suggested.

"No, you should totally look into this Schism thing" Joshua maintained, "It sounds awesome! Can we look into it?" he asked keenly, but Emily shook her head, much to his disappointment. "You know, we still haven't tried the easiest way to make a choice" Liam pointed out, and the other three looked at him quizzically. He took a two pence piece from his pocket and balanced it on his thumb. "Heads you look into it, tails you don't" he decided, before flicking it up into the air. The coin spun round and round, fell for what seemed like an age, and landed neatly in Liam's palm.

He held it out so they could see what it had landed on…tails. "I guess that's that" said Joshua, "tough break, Em" he added with a shrug. Emily suddenly reached over and turned the coin over. "There, now it's on heads".

"Hey, you can't do that! It's against the rules" Liam protested, turning the coin back to tails; then Emily turned it back to heads again. "Don't you get it? What the coin lands on doesn't matter, cos you can just change it. Besides, it did help, kind of. I know what to choose now" she revealed, "I might not know what's gonna happen to me, but I've never let that stop me before! So I'm going to do it. I'm going to look into the Schism, and I'm gonna become the best Time Lady ever!"

They all cheered and began to scramble to their feet, only to moan as their stomachs protested painfully. Emily closed her eyes and reached out to her parents; the bond she'd shared with them since being born was much weaker now, but if she concentrated, she could still talk to them. _Mummy, Daddy, our tummies hurt, help! _

Much to her relief, her dad soon came in and held out four white tablets. "Anti-stomach ache pills, courtesy of the med bay" he explained, and they each chewed one. The pills tasted chalky and icky, but they worked fast; soon the kids felt much, much better. "Thank you, daddy" Emily said gratefully, hugging him, "um, I want to look into the Schism" she added determinedly. The Doctor looked her in the eyes and realised she was serious about this choice. "Is that your final answer?" he asked, hoping she might still change her mind. He wasn't sure he was ready for her to start growing up.

Emily nodded decisively, and he sighed. "Alright, darling; we'll have to drop your friends and their parents off first before we go to it, okay?" he told her and she nodded in understanding, running off to tell her mum and godparents about her decision. "Aww, but we want to stay and watch" Joshua grumbled, as the Doctor ushered them back to the console room. He ruffled the boys head and replied "Sorry Joshua, but this is more of a Time Lords Only sort of thing".

Meanwhile, a newly energised Emily had reached the console room and rushed up to her mum. "Guess what?! I chose to look into the Schism, I really want to do it! Daddy says I can, when everybody's gone home. Isn't this great? I'm gonna be a Time Lady, I'm gonna be a Time Lady!" she carolled in a sing song voice, dancing around the console. "Where is this Untempered Schism?" Donna asked Romana, who answered "Well…it used to be on Gallifrey".

Donna's eyes widened. "But, Gallifrey is…" she trailed off, glancing at Emily, but the little girl was being spun around by the Corsair and laughing, completely oblivious. "Gone, I know" Romana finished for her, "the Schism was a window into the Time Vortex, which the Time Lords once controlled. Normally staring into the Vortex would turn us into vengeful deities, but the Schism only gives us a connection to Time and Space, nothing more…but never mind that. The thing is, even though Gallifrey is no longer here, the Schism still is; it's just hidden.

"You see, unless you have a tremendous amount of power, you can't erase gaps in the fabric of space-time forever. All you can do is either hide them, or keep them sewn shut and hope nothing tears the seams. When…when the Doctor destroyed Gallifrey" Romana continued, keeping her voice low, "the Schism was left behind, so he put it a second out of sync with the rest of the universe. You'd never know it was there now" she finished, sounding downcast. Donna hugged her sympathetically.

The Temple-Nobles and Smith-Jones were sent on their way with hugs and promises to visit soon, to 'show off your new Time Lady powers' as Joshua put it. Emily was brimming with anticipation by the time they materialised before the Schism. The Doctor led her halfway down the ramp and kissed the top of her head, before squeezing past and joining Romana at the door. The Corsair and Flavia stayed at the console, keeping the TARDIS steady.

"The TARDIS can't stay this close to the Schism for long, so we're just going to open the doors for ten seconds. Are you ready?" the Doctor asked Emily, who nodded enthusiastically. He and Romana gripped the door handles, took deep breaths, and counted to three. "One…two…three" – then the doors were pulled open, and Emily found herself staring at eternity.

_One _

It was the most incredible thing she had ever seen: a kaleidoscope of sights, colours, sounds. Her eyes darted this way and that, unable to take in the sheer enormity of everything that was, and is, and ever could be.

_Two _

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen: stars being born, and from those stars came the stuff of life, and new life sprang forth every second somewhere; moments of joy, comfort, excitement, success and love occurred all over the universe.

_Three _

It was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen: planets under attack, cities crumbling from the power of an earthquake, kids just like her screaming as their homes burned in war; moments of misery, hardship, horror, loss and hate occurred in equal, and sometimes greater measure.

_Four _

It was the most overwhelming thing she had ever seen: she wanted to reach out, and help those poor people, but in the next second they had vanished into the ether and she was left staring in shock as another flicker took their places.

_Five _

It was the most…_inspiring _thing she had ever seen: even in the face of terrible events, and terrible people_, _she could see that some were still _trying _to do the right thing, simply because it was the right thing, they were striving for a better future by learning from the mistakes of the past.

_Six _

Seconds earlier she feared the universe was so much darker than she'd thought; now she was sure it was brighter, and she just knew she had to help keep the brightness shining, like stars in the night.

_Seven _

She wanted to stand up against those who picked on people, just because they were bigger and stronger. She wanted to hold people's hands when they thought they were all on their own. She wanted to push all the nastiness away and let in the happiness instead.

_Eight _

It was so clear, this was the right choice, this was…this was her destiny! She was born to follow in her mum and dad's footsteps, save planets, rescue civilisations, defeat awful monsters and do an awful lot of running!

_Nine _

Now she knew so much, she'd seen so much and it made her want to see even more; she could _feel, _instinctively, that they were a second out of sync, and beyond this little bubble, it was the year 4520, and the Schism was pulling at the TARDIS like a black hole, sucking in artron energy.

_Ten _

Emily was smiling; she was crying; she was shaking; she was staring at…white doors? "What…huh?" she asked blankly, not sure where she was, feeling like she was waking up from a dream. Suddenly arms were being wrapped around her, lifting her off the floor. "It's okay, Emily, you're okay" her dad told her, and he and her mum kissed her and hugged her close.

Romana went to help fly the TARDIS back to the normal universe, whilst the Doctor kept hugging Emily. "Well done, Emz" the Corsair grinned once they were floating in deep space, "you're one of us now. How does it feel?" he asked. Emily blinked a few times, her thoughts a jumbled mess. "It…it feels…" she yawned widely, "…it feels tiring" she decided, resting her head on her dad's shoulder. She found enough energy to murmur, "I'm not mad…I'm inspired. I'm gonna be like you, daddy, an' save…" she trailed off, fast asleep.

The Doctor handed her to Romana, who carried Emily to her bedroom, put her in pyjamas and tucked her into bed. "Goodnight, our little Time Lady" she whispered, kissing Emily's forehead.

/

That night, Emily's subconscious sorted through everything she'd seen, ordering it into strings of past, present and possible futures, picking out fixed points. Much of the time she was unaware of this, but when the sorting coincided with REM sleep she had strange and confusing dreams, sometimes nightmares. In one, she was watching Sontarons attack the Earth, choking everyone with gas... "Emily, it's alright! It's just a dream" said her dad, walking over like nothing was happening.

"Daddy?" Emily blinked in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

"You're having a bad dream, sweetheart, so I came into your head to help you. Don't worry about all this" the Doctor told her, waving his hand around at the chaos – in Times Square of all places – "I sorted it out…well, my past-self did. In fact…look up there. I should be just about to fix everything in five, four, three, two, one". With that, flames spread across the smog filled sky, and when they dissipated the blueness shone through again. "Wow" Emily murmured, wide eyed.

Her dad took her hand and led her to a blue door, just standing there in the street. They walked through it into a meadow, and he told her to shut the door behind her. "Am I seeing your past?" she asked him. "You're seeing the Earth's recent past; can you tell when this is happening, and where we are?" he asked, smiling encouragingly at her. Emily thought hard, screwing up her face in concentration.

The Doctor smiled and gently advised her, "Don't think about it too much. The answer is in there", he tapped her forehead, "you just have to let it come out". So Emily tried to clear her mind, and the time and place floated up like the answers in one of those magic-8 balls. "It's the 4th May, 2008…and we're in Cumbria" she announced. The Doctor beamed and hugged her. "Well done!"

Emily smiled at the praise, before inquiring "What do I do now?"

"Well, we are in your head. You don't have to see these memories as if you were there, you could…imagine you were watching them on a big cinema screen" her dad suggested, so Emily closed her eyes and pictured herself sitting in her own private theatre. When she opened her eyes, the scene had changed to somewhere in China, but it was on a large screen and she was in a comfy seat. "What, no seat for me?" asked the Doctor, so she imagined another chair beside hers, and it appeared like magic.

"Thank you, Lady Emeya" her dad said with a bow, making Emily giggle. "Daddy, do I have to watch all of what's happened to Earth?" she asked. "No; see, your mind is going through everything you saw in the Schism, and tidying it away in your subconscious behind…think of it like a glass wall. You'll still be able to see the past and future timelines, but they won't get mixed together, or with the present. It's hard to describe what it feels like, but don't worry, this is normal. You won't really remember this when you wake up"

"Will I wake up?"

"Oh, of course, when you're hungry or need the loo. Mind you, processing all of time and space takes a long while. You'll be sleeping quite a lot for the next week or so" the Doctor informed Emily, much to her alarm. "What? But I'll miss out on all the fun stuff" she pouted, not liking the thought of being left behind whilst adventures were being had. "Trust me, you won't miss out on much; we'll be going to more dangerous places, that you'd have to stay on board the TARDIS for anyway. You just rest, darling" her dad assured her.

/

He turned out to be right – Emily _did _sleep a lot, and when she woke up properly, she was dimly aware of threads of timelines being drawn through her mind, behind glass walls. It was a bit distracting, but she soon managed to focus on the present; she was in the TARDIS, with her family…and she was hungry. Emily got out of bed and padded through the halls in her slippers, coming across a kitchen where her godfather was drinking coffee. "Emily!" he exclaimed when he saw her standing in the doorway, "hey, how are you feeling?"

"I feel…different. I think I'm okay though. Do we have any food? I'm starving" Emily announced, walking over to the fridge. "We've got plenty of food. Does her highness fancy anything in particular?" asked the Corsair, and Emily sniggered, before asking "Could you make me some scrambled eggs on toast, please?"

The Corsair gave her a double thumbs-up and announced "Oui madam, coming right up". Flavia and her parents came in whilst he was cooking, and her mum immediately hugged Emily. "Oh, are you okay, honey?" she asked in concern, checking to make sure Emily didn't have a temperature. She squirmed under her mum's fussing and shook her head. "I'm fine, mummy. I just feel different" she claimed.

"Good different or bad different?" asked the Doctor. Emily thought about it for a moment and replied "Good different. The Schism was great! And scary…but I saw people doing nice things, and I want to do nice things too…when I'm grown up, I can be a hero like you and mummy, right?" she asked her dad, who smiled and nodded. "Of course you can, darling. You can be whatever you set your mind to" he assured her.

Emily smiled, and her smile only got wider when the Corsair set her eggs on toast in front of her. "We'll go visit your friends later, shall we?" suggested Romana, and Emily nodded in agreement, her mouth full of food. She couldn't wait to tell Liam, Joshua and Maria all about the Untempered Schism. She was really a Time Lady now, and she was going to be the best one ever.

/

To be continued in 'The TARDIS Family'. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed or followed or favourited this short story, I very much appreciate it. I'll also be occassionally updating a side story about raising Emily in the eight years between chapters eleven and twelve.


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